Even after a 10-1 victory earned his team a ninth-consecutive state tournament trip, Edina boys’ hockey coach Curt Giles maintained, “I still think we can play better.”

If not their coach, Hornets’ players certainly made believers out of Burnsville. The two-time defending Class 2A state tournament champions exploded for three goals less than seven minutes into the game. They tallied another four in the second period to effectively end Wednesday’s Section 2 championship game at Mariucci Arena long before the final horn.

“They are an excellent team,” Burnsville coach Janne Kivihalme said. “They outskated us today and we couldn’t find an answer.”

A power-play goal from senior forward Matt Masterman came first, followed by a goal from senior forward Parker Mismash. A little more than one minute later, Henry Bowlby, a St. Lawrence commit, added a goal and the Hornets (24-1-2) built a 3-0 advantage.

“If you’ve got an opportunity to score some goals early, kids get confident, they get comfortable and they get moving,” Giles said.

Burnsville responded as senior forward Andy Schoen buried a shorthanded goal to cut the Hornets’ lead to 3-1 later in the first period. A second period power play gave the Blaze (15-11-2) a chance to get closer. But Edina senior goalie Kobi Boe turned away several quality shots.

“Kobi is a wall back there,” Hornets senior defenseman Paul Meyer said. “He makes things so much easier for us because we know he’s going to make the save.’”

With the Burnsville power play extinguished, Edina’s offense went back to work. Mismash scored his second goal of the game and Dylan Malmquist added a shorthanded goal to push the lead to 5-1. The Hornets kept buzzing. Goals from Meyer and Sam Walker gave Edina a commanding 7-1 lead after two periods.

Meyer, who came into the game with four goals, finished with a hat trick.

“Paulie had a great night; he can shoot the puck,” Giles said. “I’m just hoping he’s saving some for the state tournament.”

Edina maintained its recent mastery of Burnsville, winning for the 14th time in 15 tries and improving to 5-0 in section final showdowns since the 2006-07 season.

First Report

Edina rolled to a 10-1 victory against Burnsville in the Class 2A, Section 2 championship game Wednesday at Mariucci Arena.

The Hornets, two-time defending state tournament champions, earned their ninth-consecutive trip to the Xcel Energy Center.

Senior defenseman Paul Meyer netted a hat trick for Edina.

Edina maintained its recent mastery of Burnsville, winning for the 14th time in 15 tries and improving to 5-0 in section final showdowns since the 2006-07 season.


Photo gallery: Edina 10, Burnsville 1