Mario Bertogliat still remembers how he helped his Minnetonka Pee Wee A team defeat Edina five years ago.

He toe-pulled the puck from a Hornets defender and escaped on a breakaway. With the puck on his stick and the game on the line, Bertogliat pulled it to his backhand and put it top shelf.

He’ll never forget that goal, he said. Not until the day he dies. Just talking about beating Edina — which Bertogliat claims is the Skippers' biggest rival — or seeing the Hornets' kelly green uniform brings him a flood of memories.

Tuesday night in the Schwan Cup Gold Division semifinals at Ridder Arena, Bertogliat scored another memorable goal against Edina. With 28 seconds left in a tie game, the puck bounced onto his stick while he was in the crease and the senior forward fired it into a wide-open net, delivering Minnetonka a 3-2 win — its first victory over the Hornets in regulation since Feb. 2, 2013.

Not as pretty, maybe, but this goal against Edina was just as sweet.

“Equally memorable,” Bertogliat said.

"There's nothing better than beating Edina," Skippers goalie Thomas Hanson added.

Bertogliat's goal came just minutes after the Hornets, ranked No. 7 in Class 2A coaches’ poll, tied the game on a nifty play from sophomore Sam Walker.

Edina (7-5-1) controlled much of the third period play, but Minnetonka  (8-3-0) fought back late, a testament to the team’s maturity, Skippers coach Brian Urick said.

“This is the first time we’ve had an older team,” Urick added. “We have eight seniors this year…our older kids stepped up tonight and played well. It’s maturity that we haven’t had in a couple years. “

Having one of Minnesota's best goalies doesn’t hurt, either. Hanson's .928 save percentage is the ninth best in the state, and the senior stopped 29 of 31 shots Tuesday night, including several on odd-man rushes.

Hanson stops what should be stopped — it’s as simple as that.

“I think he’s one of the best goalies in the state,” Urick said. “He’s worked extremely hard, and he’s really poised back there. He doesn’t let in goals that shouldn’t get in. If you’re a good goalie, you don’t let the soft ones in.”

It was good to beat the Hornets, Urick said. But at this point in the season, he’s more worried about his team’s effort and progress than rankings and flashy wins. Minnetonka was ranked No. 13 in Class 2A entering the game against Edina.

Quite frankly, the coach doesn’t give it much thought. He wants to see maturity. He wants to see his team overcome adversity. He got both Tuesday.

“The most important thing is you get your guys game-ready for big moments against good teams,” Urick said. “Tonight was a learning experience. We give up the tying goal with four minutes left, and then we find a way to answer.”

It all comes down to how his team is playing when it matters — at the end of the season. The Skippers were moved to Section 2 this spring and will have to compete against top-flight teams such as Eden Prairie, Holy Family and Prior Lake if they want to return to the Xcel Energy Center for the first time since 2010.

There’s a ways to go.

The sound of Justin Bieber blaring from Minnetonka's locker room after defeating Edina might say otherwise, but the coach claims even after an emotional victory over a rival, his team isn’t content.

“I don’t know,” Urick said, shaking his head with a smile. “It’s so early. We’re not celebrating yet.”


Edina goalie Charlie deGrood makes a kick save under pressure in a 3-2 loss to Minnetonka in the Schwan Cup Gold Division semifinals Tuesday night at Ridder Arena. Photo by Rick Orndorf

First Report

Minnetonka scored with 28 seconds left to edge Edina 3-2 in the Schwan Cup Gold Division semifinals Tuesday night at Ridder Arena.

Skippers forward Mario Bertogliat tipped in a ricocheted puck to give his team the victory. Prior to Tuesday’s contest, the Hornets were unbeaten in regulation against Minnetonka in five straight matchups dating back to Feb. 2, 2013.

It was a back-and-forth game with each team piling on numerous chances.

A nice one-timer off the rush by Joe Molenaar gave the Skippers a 1-0 lead 7 minutes, 40 seconds into the second period, but Edina responded with a power-play goal just over two minutes later.

Minnetonka (8-3-0), ranked No. 13 in the Class 2A coaches’ poll, retook the lead with 2:20 left to play in the second when Jack Bowman caught a pass in front of the net from Pierson Paas and fired it off the post past Hornets goalie Charlie deGrood.

Edina's Sam Walker dangled through two defenders to score, evening the game late in the third period. However, the Skippers' prevailed on their last-minute goal.

Thomas Hanson made 29 saves for Minnetonka while deGrood finished with 26 for the No. 7-2A Hornets (7-5-1).

The Skippers move on to Wednesday's Gold Division championship game at Ridder Arena, where they face Eden Prairie at 8 p.m.

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