It felt like a matter of when, not if, Edina would finally break through Friday.
Through two periods, the bulk of the second Class 2A girls state hockey semifinal at Xcel Energy Center on Friday against Holy Family had been played in the Fire end, yet the game remained scoreless.
Cate McCoy changed that 39 seconds into the third period for Edina and the Hornets went on to a 1-0 win.
The top-seeded and defending champion Hornets (25-3-1) will face No. 3 Hill-Murray in Saturday’s 7 p.m. final. The Pioneers beat Rosemount 5-2 in the other semifinal.
The Hornets have won five titles since 2017, including a 2-0 win over Hill-Murray in 2024.
McCoy’s third goal of the tournament — she had two in a quarterfinal win over Farmington — came by redirecting a shot from the point by Libby Moe into the top corner of the Fire net. It was her 19th goal of the season.
The Fire had two shots in the first 12 minutes of the third period, and equaled that on a late power play, but couldn’t beat Reese McConnell then or with a 6-on-4 advantage in the final minute after another penalty. McConnell made a huge pad stop on Josie Linn with about 20 seconds left to ice the win.
The Edina senior earned her sixth shutout of the season by making a 12 saves. Nora Hannan had just seven in the Hornets’ 3-1 quarterfinal win.
Kayla Swartout had 26 saves for Holy Family Catholic (22-8-0), which was in the tournament for the first time.
Related Articles
State girls hockey: Hill-Murray beats Rosemount to advance to 2A title game
Class A state girls hockey: Warroad wins 3-overtime thriller to set up finals rematch with Dodge County
Class 2A state hockey roundup: Edina holds off Farmington, sets up semifinal matchup with Holy Family
State Class AA girls hockey: Hill-Murray 5, Andover 3
State Class AA girls hockey: Rosemount 3, Centennial/Spring Lake Park 2
Leave a Reply