Minnetonka coach Sean Goldsworthy braced his boys hockey team for a one-goal final against Edina in the teams' third meeting this season, a slim margin that intensifies the magnitude of moments both good and bad.
Sure enough, the top-ranked Skippers held off the Hornets 2-1 in the Class 2A state tournament championship game Saturday at the Xcel Energy Center.
"Tonight, we kind of won it by plugging away and not panicking," Goldsworthy said. "That's the toughest team we've played all year and we've done it three times."
And won them all. Minnetonka beat Edina 4-0 and 1-0 during Lake Conference meetings. Those victories were part of a winning streak that reached 20 Saturday.
No. 1 seed Minnetonka (29-2) scored first, the Skippers' sixth consecutive, unanswered goal against the Hornets this season. Junior forward Hagen Burrows made his team's first power-play chance count. He unleashed the puck from a sharp angle and it hit the back of goalie Robbie Clarkowski and went in at 11:01 of the opening period.
For Burrows, regarded as the most dangerous of all the Skippers' fine forwards, the goal was No. 24 of the season.
The second period opened with No. 3 seed Edina (22-7-1) ahead in shots 14-10 but Minnetonka still holding a 1-0 lead.
Edina coach Curt Giles implored his players going into Saturday's game to pressure Minnetonka into making mistakes. The Hornets forced the issue to start the third period.