Eden Prairie didn’t score the pretty goals, but luckily for the Eagles, there are no style points awarded in hockey. 

Eden Prairie used a combination of ugly goals and Elk River/Zimmerman miscues to come away with a 6-3 win in a matchup at the Edina Holiday Classic at Braemar Ice Arena on Thursday. 

Penalties were the X-factor in the game as the Elks shot themselves in the foot. Elk River/Zimmerman played shorthanded a total of 15 game minutes, giving the Eagles too many scoring opportunities. Eden Prairie collected three power-play goals on the night.

“We work on (power plays) a lot,” Eden Prairie junior forward Michael Graham said. “We have a few set plays, and we buried some.” 

Wesley Young opened the scoring when his knuckle shot ricocheted off the skate of Elk River goaltender Chase Gauthier at the 3:21 mark of the first period. Casey Middelstadt scored on rocket slapper down the middle 14 seconds later to make the Eagles’ lead 2-0. 

“Coach has always said we won’t be scoring the prettiest goals, but we’ll be scoring the ugly ones, and getting those ugly ones… it was big momentum to start,” Eden Prairie senior forward Tyler Safgren said. 

Elk River responded with two quick goals to tie the game before the end of the first. Jax Murray intercepted a pass and scored on a breakaway, and Jacob Jaremko found the net on a one-timer from point-blank range. 

“They came marching back and make two great plays and tie it up, and then it was even Steven the rest of that period,” Eden Prairie coach Lee Smith said. “We just had to refocus the second period. That really set the tone for us and the way we played the rest of the game from there.” 

The rest of the game would be all Eagles. 

Elk River was assessed a holding penalty early in the second, and Brett Boldenow got a power-play goal for Eden Prairie.

Michael Graham then scored a shorthanded goal to increase the Eagles' lead to 4-2 with less than 5 minutes to play in the second.

Alex Schwab netted a power-play goal for Elk River/Zimmerman 1 minute later as the Elks closed the scoring gap. 

However, a 5-minute major penalty for cross-checking just before the end of the period hobbled Elk River/Zimmerman as it attempted to mount a comeback.

Eden Prairie took advantage as Marc Sullivan scored a power-play goal early in the third period. 

The Eagles’ sixth goal came off an empty netter from Graham to close out the contest. 

Five different players scored for the Eagles, which Safgren said is part of the team’s blueprint. 

“We’re a big role team,” Safgren said. “No one is taking special shifts. It’s crazy that we’re jumbling the lines so much. Everyone is playing as a team and that’s the big thing. You have to stay on the pedal, and I think that’s what we did today.”

First Report

Eden Prairie took advantage of its early lead to push around Elk River/Zimmerman, and the Eagles defeated the Elks 6-3 in the first game of the Edina Holiday Classic Tournament at Braemar Ice Arena on Thursday. 

Junior forward Wesley Young opened the scoring in the first period for the Eagles when the puck found the net on a lucky bounce off the skate of Elk River/Zimmerman senior goaltender Chase Gauthier. 

Twelve seconds later, sophomore forward Casey Mittelstadt made the Eagles’ lead 2-0 with a point-blank shot on Gauthier. 

The first 9 minutes of the game was played in the Elks’ zone until Elk River sophomore forward Jax Murray intercepted an Eden Prairie pass and converted a free shot on Eagles junior goalie Shaun Durocher, cutting the lead in half. 

Elk River senior forward Jacob Jaremko then took a bounce pass to the net and scored to tie the game before the end of the period.

Junior forward Cole Lawrence scored a power-play goal and junior forward Michael Graham added a shorthanded goal early in the second period to give Eden Prairie control of the game, and the Eagles held on to the lead from there. 

Elk River/Zimmerman junior defenseman Matt Kiersted was assessed a 5-minute major and game misconduct for cross-checking with 20 seconds to play in the second, and the Elks played a man down for the majority of the rest of the game.

Eden Prairie capitalized on the advantage as senior defenseman Marc Sullivan scored a power-play goal early in the third period and Graham ended the game with an empty netter.

Elk River/Zimmerman tried to make it a game in the final 17 minutes, scoring a goals that was waived off for interference. The Elks struggled to regain any momentum as the Eagles’ forecheck was too much to handle. 

Durocher finished the game with 14 saves, while Gauthier made 16.


Elk River forward Jax Murray scores on a first period breakaway in a 6-3 loss to Eden Prairie. Photo by Rick Orndorf

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