Edina vs. Benilde-St. Margarets

[MNHockeyFan]

Key non-conference matchup on Saturday that will influence playoff seedings for Section 6, easily the strongest section in Class AA. Game time is 3:00 p.m. at St. Louis Park Rec Center.

[MNHockeyFan]

Looks like on the basis of the one vote in this poll, BSM is going to win.

[xk1]

Edina 4 OT
BSM 3

Great game nice comback from 3-1 for BSM but Edina prevails.

[MNHockeyFan]

Edina 4 OT
BSM 3

Great game nice comback from 3-1 for BSM but Edina prevails.

Congrats to Edina especially their defense which did a great job holding off BSM's high powered attack. BSM was a little off kilter on their power play and missed on several excellent chances in the third period, but Edina could easily have scored another goal or two themselves...this was high school girls hockey at its best. Too bad these two teams along with Eden Prairie are all in the same tough section.

[allhoc11]

Rematch, who's going to come out on top this time?

[MNHockeyFan]

Rematch, who's going to come out on top this time?

I think BSM will turn the tables this time. Last year Edina won with just a couple of ticks left when they caught BSM's defense napping and scored on a long pass and breakaway. Earlier this year Edina won another one goal game in a hard fought battle. BSM is now at full strength and after a little tinkering the coach has the strongest possible lineup ready to play.
It will be another close one but I think Benilde pulls this one out.

[Sioux Rule]

Rematch, who's going to come out on top this time?

BSM, no question!

[BCGHockey]

BSM by 2 over the Green

[mnhockgal]

BSM 6
Edina 3

With an EN goal. BSM dominated the last half of the game despite some very questionable officiating that helped Edina. BSM has loads of speed, Bacon and Trunzo were great.

[fan4fun]

BSM 6
Edina 3

With an EN goal. BSM dominated the last half of the game despite some very questionable officiating that helped Edina. BSM has loads of speed, Bacon and Trunzo were great.

Not at all surprising. BSM is playing well, despite the officiating they were able to get it done. The officiating was questionable in both games tonight. Good luck, BSM.

[AAFC]

Not at all surprising. BSM is playing well, despite the officiating they were able to get it done. The officiating was questionable in both games tonight. Good luck, BSM.

I'm biased (green) but I thought that BSM played well with the "help" of some of the officiating. At least it wasn't as one-sided as the Hopkins-Wayzata game last Saturday however.

On the other hand, when Edina scored near the end of the first I thought that would have some big momentum into the 2nd. But as usual with a lead they sat back and let the opponent take it to them. Credit to BSM for NOT slumping but stepping it up.

And while there were a lot of penalties, Edina didn't seem to rotate its forward lines as evenly as it had all season long. Heaven forbid anybody question the coaching however....

[hockeytime]

Not at all surprising. BSM is playing well, despite the officiating they were able to get it done. The officiating was questionable in both games tonight. Good luck, BSM.

I'm biased (green) but I thought that BSM played well with the "help" of some of the officiating. At least it wasn't as one-sided as the Hopkins-Wayzata game last Saturday however.

On the other hand, when Edina scored near the end of the first I thought that would have some big momentum into the 2nd. But as usual with a lead they sat back and let the opponent take it to them. Credit to BSM for NOT slumping but stepping it up.

And while there were a lot of penalties, Edina didn't seem to rotate its forward lines as evenly as it had all season long. Heaven forbid anybody question the coaching however....

You've just named the 3 things that cost Edina the game. Multiple penalties, lack of line rotations , and lack of a system to carry them past the best teams. Nonetheless, the girls played their hearts out. BSM had the right people out, a solid system, and plenty of passing which at this level is the difference. Best of luck to BSM as they move on. Congratulations to the Edina girls for a fantastic season they should be proud of.

[MNHockeyFan]

You've just named the 3 things that cost Edina the game. Multiple penalties, lack of line rotations , and lack of a system to carry them past the best teams.

I agree that Edina did not help their cause by taking some unneccesary penalties.

But lack of line rotations? Not sure what you mean here. Is it your feeling that the coach did not change lines quickly enough? Did the girls stay out there too long? Did the coach rely too much on their key players and not play the 3rd unit so the first two were not as effective as they could have been? Just curious what you mean here...

I would definitely disagree with you when you say there was a "lack of a system to carry them past the best teams". Looking back on the season, they had wins over Burnsville (twice), Grand Rapids, Blake, Mayo, Hopkins (twice), Wayzata, Stillwater, Holy Angels, Hill-Murray, Roseville and BSM the first time they played them. You would think that to beat all of these fine teams - and not give up more than 3 goals to anyone all season until their last game - they MUST have had a pretty good system. Going into the last game, they had lost only one game all year, and it's not as if they played an easy schedule - far from it! And they did all of this despite not having any "superstars" that finished amongst the state's scoring leaders.

I think by anyone's standards, Edina had a tremendous season, and even though they are disappointed in the way it ended, the entire team and the coaching staff should be very proud of what they accomplished.

[ghshockeyfan]

You've just named the 3 things that cost Edina the game. Multiple penalties, lack of line rotations , and lack of a system to carry them past the best teams.

I agree that Edina did not help their cause by taking some unneccesary penalties.

But lack of line rotations? Not sure what you mean here. Is it your feeling that the coach did not change lines quickly enough? Did the girls stay out there too long? Did the coach rely too much on their key players and not play the 3rd unit so the first two were not as effective as they could have been? Just curious what you mean here...

I would definitely disagree with you when you say there was a "lack of a system to carry them past the best teams". Looking back on the season, they had wins over Burnsville (twice), Grand Rapids, Blake, Mayo, Hopkins (twice), Wayzata, Stillwater, Holy Angels, Hill-Murray, Roseville and BSM the first time they played them. You would think that to beat all of these fine teams - and not give up more than 3 goals to anyone all season until their last game - they MUST have had a pretty good system. Going into the last game, they had lost only one game all year, and it's not as if they played an easy schedule - far from it! And they did all of this despite not having any "superstars" that finished amongst the state's scoring leaders.

I think by anyone's standards, Edina had a tremendous season, and even though they are disappointed in the way it ended, the entire team and the coaching staff should be very proud of what they accomplished.

FWIW - Stephan is one of the best systematic coaches I know - and this includes many outstanding boys coaches at all levels.

[twowayplay]

Edina has great coaching. One of the best smoothering forechecks I have seen. The team is patient and capitalizes on mistakes.

For this game you have to mention goaltending too. BSMs goaltender was stronger than Edina's

[MNHockeyFan]

Edina has great coaching. One of the best smoothering forechecks I have seen. The team is patient and capitalizes on mistakes.

For this game you have to mention goaltending too. BSMs goaltender was stronger than Edina's

Amanda Nagel hasn't received nearly enough credit for the critical role she's played in helping BSM advance to where they are this year. She has a 1.59 GAA and a 92.0% save percentage for the season. BSM would not be in a position they are in without her excellent and consistent play, which is sometimes overlooked when the offense gets most of the headlnes.

[thefriendlyfan]

I am sure that many of the Edina girls would tell you that the only system they have is dump the puck and win the race... worked all season for them until they played a team that was faster than them (Benilde) The problem with this system is that many of the girls that have played for Edina all their lives have a lot of trouble when they get on AAA teams because they can't mesh with other players who play within passing systems... I've watched many of Edina's best players play AAA, and this is very very evident, as many of them appear to be ineffective outside of Edina.

If edina had any passing in their system at all, they would have been able to change their game and beat Benilde's skill, but unfortunately all Edina's system emphasizes is speed, and speed was not enough against Benilde.

And I agree with the statement that "lack of line rotations" partly cost Edina the game. The line of Evans, Benjamin, and Wood played so much of the game that it was evident how tired they were at the end... The coaches needed to go with some fresh horses.