Edina finds the girls’ hockey frustration in the wards seeding

With the legal battle settled and Edina’s hornet logo once again able to grace team jerseys, all should be well in the Cake Eaters capital.

Not so.

Girls hockey coach Sami Cowger has big issues with her team’s No. 2 seed in the upcoming Class 2A Section 6 playoffs. The Hornets’ road to nine straight state tournament appearances runs through top-seeded Blake.

Never mind the team rankings in the latest Let’s Play Hockey Coaches Poll, with Blake (14-11) ranked 13th and Edina (19-4-2) fifth. The Part 6 coaches, who do not meet in person or even virtually, submitted their selections and rationales via email. Apparently, Blake’s 1-0 upset win on Jan. 17 at Edina’s Braemar Arena was enough to sway the department coaches.

“I got calls from several coaches asking if there was a typo on our cleat,” said Cowger, formerly of Reber.

Four of Cowger’s first five seasons behind the Edina bench ended with state championships. Moving from the state’s top dogs to some of the underdogs didn’t sit well.

“If you had called the day the rack came out, I would have said, ‘No comment,'” he said. “But now I think it’s best that it happens. This lights a fire under us.”

Episode 6 kicks off on Saturday with the quarterfinals (Blake and Edina both received byes from the semifinals). Other episodes dropped the puck on Tuesday.

Perhaps no section of the state is tougher than Class 2A, Section 4, which includes teams like Hill-Murray, Gentry Academy and Stillwater, all of which reside in the top 10 this week.

Cheating sections in Class 1A include Section 4 with No. 2 Simley and No. 6 South St. Paul. And Section 5, led by No. 4 Holy Angels, No. 5 Orono and No. 7 Mound Westonka/Southwest Christian.

Defending state champion Andover (2A) and Warroad (1A) will return to the Big Skate event, which will be held from 22-25. February at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

GIRLS’ TERM REVIEWS

Class 2A

By Let’s Play Hockey (Published on February 7)

1. Minnetonka (22-2); 2. Hill-Murray (21-3-1); 3. Andover (22-3); 4. Gentry Academy (21-2); 5. Edina (19-4-2); 6. Maple Grove (18-6-1); 7. Stillwater (18-7); 8. Holy Family (18-6-1); 9. Benilde-St. Margaret’s (16-7-2); 10. Moorhead (18-8)

11. Centennial/Spring Lake Park (18-6-1); 12. Lakeville South (21-4); 13. Blake (14-11); 14. Apple Valley (18-6-1); 15. Lakeville North (18-7); 16. Roseville/Mahtomedi (17-7-1); 17. Northfield (18-7); 18. Grand Rapids/Greenway (13-11); 19. North Wright County (12-11-2); 20. Roseau (16-10).

Class 1A (records until February 7)

1. Warroad (21-3-1); 2. Simley (20-4-1); 3. Proctor/Hermantown (16-6-2); 4. Holy Angel Academy (19-5-1); 5. Orono (17-3-4); 6. South St. Paul (19-5-1); 7. Mound Westonka / Southwest Christian (17-8); 8. Fergus Falls (19-4-1); 9. Duluth Marshall (17-6-1); 10 Luverne (19-6).

11. Crookston (13-6-2); 12. Dodge County (15-8-2); 13. Mankato East (18-6); 14. Albert Lea (16-7-1); 15. Delano/Rockford (12-12-1); 16. Chisago Lakes (14-10-1); 17. New Ulm (16-8-1); 18. Willmar (13-4-1); 19. Litchfield-Dassel/Cokato (11-11-3); 20. Moose Lake Area (13-10-2).