Edina handles Blake, makes girls hockey state tournament for ninth year in a row

Edina hadn't scored against Blake this season. That fact was still true after the first period in Friday's section final.

But in a 32-second span in the second period, Edina scored a couple of greasy goals to take a lead it wouldn't relinquish.

"To know that we can put two away that quickly, and they weren't beautiful goals, just gritty, net-front goals, that's huge," said Edina coach Sami Cowger. "And that led the way for the rest of the game for us."

Edina defeated Blake 4-0 to win its ninth consecutive Class 2A, Section 6 championship at Parade Ice Garden. The Hornets (21-4-2) return to state for the 13th time since 2009.

It took nearly seven minutes into the second period for the scoring dam to break. Senior defenseman Sami Hankinson scored her fifth goal of the season on a shot through traffic.

"It was good to set the tone like that," Hankinson said. "We knew once that first goal went in, though, that it wasn't done and we had to continue working."

They worked quickly. Thirty-two seconds later, senior Lauren Zawoyski cleaned up another loose puck for her eighth goal of the season. Edina's leading scorer, junior Hannah Halverson, fired a wrister for her team-leading 15th goal this season to make it 3-0 before she added an empty-netter.

"We've had that game in our minds since," Halverson said. "It only made us play better. We just wanted revenge and to get back at them."

Top-seeded and No. 13-ranked Blake (15-12-0) had its chances Friday, including three first-period power plays, but it ended the game 0-for-5 on the power play and without a goal.

"Edina pressured really hard, just was all over us," said Blake coach Kristi King. "They also shadowed Suzy [Higuchi], and they did a great job at it."

Higuchi finished the season as Blake's top scorer, with 32 goals and 68 points.