When I joined the Sun sports staff as a rookie in the fall of 1972, one of the first commands from my managing editor, Jerr Boschee, was: “You will have articles on Edina hockey every week.”
Mr. Boschee, as I called him at the time, knew better than anybody where his bread was buttered. If Edina hockey was featured in the sports section each week, readers would be pleased, and that meant more subscriptions and perhaps, eventually, more money in raises for him.
Now in my 52nd year of covering high school hockey in Edina, I never forgot Mr. Boschee’s command. And to this day, I have delivered Edina hockey news each week.
The go-to guys
In covering Edina High hockey, I am always looking for new stories and information readers want to know. Head coaches Curt Giles of the boys team and Sami Cowger of the girls team are great sources, of course.
When I need program statistics, the man to contact is Ryan Lund. When I need history and nostalgia, Bruce Carlson from the 1969 state championship team is good as gold. In the past, when Rollie Ring, the former Edina principal, was alive, he would give me descriptions of state tournament games from the 1950s and 1960s. Former Edina boys head coaches Willard Ikola and Bart Larson know just about everything there is to know about Edina boys hockey.
History of success
For this week’s history lesson, I refer to the boys hockey update provided recently by Ryan Lund.
As most fans know, this year’s boys state championship is the fifth for head coach Giles. Coach Ikola won eight state titles and coach Larson won one, giving Edina a total of 14.
On the girls side, coach Cowger has won five state championships.
Edina’s first state hockey appearance came in the 1954-55 season. The stars of that team, Tom Moe and Larry Johnson, helped put Hornet hockey on the map with Ted Greer as the head coach. State didn’t go so well that season with Edina losing to South St. Paul 4-0 in the opener and Eveleth 7-2 in the consolation round.
Edina returned the next year and won a state game for the first time - 3-2 over White Bear Lake. Sandwiched around that win were a 3-2 overtime loss to Thief River Falls and a 1-0 consolation finals loss to the Governors from St. Paul Johnson.
Kenny Yackel took over from Greer as head coach for the 1956-57 season and led the Hornets to the state consolation title. Edina beat St. Paul Murray 2-1 in the consolation finals.
Coach Ikola came to Edina as a teacher and coach after Yackel left the coaching ranks to play for the Boston Bruins in the NHL.
On his fifth trip to the state tourney in 1969, Ikola won the first of his eight state championships. Many old-time fans recall that the Hornets beat Warroad 5-4 in overtime to take the title. That was the first year that the tournament was played in the old Met Center in Bloomington, which was home to the NHL’s Minnesota North Stars.
In another famous game, the 1970 title game, Minneapolis Southwest won the battle for 50th & France from the Hornets. Brad Shelstad, the Southwest goaltender, played the game of his life to win 1-0 in overtime.
Half the times Ikola-coached teams made the state finals, the games went to overtime. Other championship overtime victories were 5-4 over Grand Rapids in 1978, 4-3 over Rochester John Marshall in 1979 and 3-2 over Eden Prairie in 2019.
The 1-0 win over Duluth East in 1997 under coach Larson was another memorable game. In the semifinals that year, it took the Hornets three overtimes to outlast Hill-Murray 5-4.
The Giles era
Coach Giles has taken Edina teams to state 14 times in 24 years. He has reached the state championship game seven times and won five titles. Two of his state finals wins were over Lake Conference rivals - Minnetonka 2-1 in 2010 and Eden Prairie 4-2 in 2015.
Then there was a loss to Minnetonka - 2-1 in the 2023 finals. In six of the seven championship games Giles coached, the Hornets held the opposition to two goals or less. The exception was a 3-0 loss to Hill-Murray in 2008.
Giles has taken the Hornets to state 14 times in the last 18 years. That is an exceptional feat, considering how good Wayzata and Benilde-St. Margaret’s have been year after year in Section 6AA
Ike’s magic touch
Ryan Lund provides proof that Willard Ikola was the greatest “big-game coach” in state history. What’s the old saying? Statistics don’t lie.
In semifinal state games, Ike’s record was 10-0 and in championship games, his record was 8-2. That’s a winning percentage of .900 in the money rounds.
Coach Giles is very reliable in big games, as well, with a 7-4 record in the semifinals and his 5-2 record in championship contests.
Double pleasure
Edina has one distinction that makes its program the envy of every school in the state.
In 2019, and again in 2024, the Hornets won boys and girls state championships in the same year.
No wonder locals like to call Edina “Hockey Town USA.”
Thanks to Ryan Lund for providing so much of the historical data. Hopefully, he will have more good news to add next season.
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