The last home game for the 2011-2012 Skipper Nation was Senior Recognition night against the Blake Bears.   The team showed tribute to those Senior girls and parents for all their hard work and dedication to the Minnetonka Girls Hockey program.  Amidst the pictures, cake, autograph books, and tears, a hockey game still needed to be played and with the momentum the team has shown in the past two weeks, they came to play.

From the start of the first period, the Skippers were strong.  Within the first two minutes of the game, Laura Bowman struck first “clawing” her way through the defenders by the net and scoring Tonka’s first goal.  The forwards and defensemen kept the puck in the Blake zone making it difficult for them to make personnel changes and get to the neutral zone.  At the 12:35 minute mark on the clock, Diana Draayer scored the Skippers second goal with assists from Kelsey Crow and Amy Petersen.  The Bears tried to regroup, however, this wasn’t your average salmon stream as four minutes later Maggie Bazany buried the puck for Tonka’s third goal with less than one-half of the period being over.  Hannah Behounek and Kira von Steinbergs set up the play and were awarded the assists.   Amy Petersen put her name on goal number four as Sydney Baldwin and Laura Bowman provided the assists.  It became apparent that the frustration of the flow of the game was beginning to annoy the Blake players and an ensuing penalty put the Skippers on the power play.   The penalty kill unit for Blake set up a “bear trap” as Karlie Lund was able to steal the puck and drive down ice for a shorthanded upper shelf goal with just 41 seconds left in the period.  The buzzer went off and the Skippers lead 4-1 with a shot differential of 9-6 in favor of the Skippers.

The second period the Skippers seemed out of sync versus their robust performance of the first period.  Subtle mistakes and better team play and goal tending by Blake put Tonka back on their heels for a little while.  As the clock continued to run the Skippers intensity came back and although the team did find the back of the net in the second period, they outshot Blake 12-3. 

All the players wanted a win for the last home game for its Seniors, all four forward lines, both defensemen lines, and the G-Core committed to bearing down on Blake.  Half way through final period Laura Bowman struck again past the paws of Tory Johnson to score Tonka’s final goal, assists to Amy Petersen and Sidney Morin.  The final score was 5-1 and the Skippers out shot Blake 11-5 in the 3rd period for a total of 32-11.  

As we bid farewell to Hadley, Kira, Megan, Ali, and Mariah, all the best from the coaches, players, parents, and fans!  We will miss you and your parents at Pagel.   Good luck with all your future endeavors!

Next up for the Skippers will be the Breck Mustangs at Andersen Arena.  The JV will begin their tournament in Plymouth. 

The Skippers skated to a convincing 6-1 win over the Eden Prairie Eagles Tuesday night at Pagel Arena, and secured the Lake Conference title with a dominant performance.  Coming into the game, Minnetonka and Edina were tied with 13 points at the top, and the Skippers knew that a win or tie in the final Conference game against Eden Prairie would give them the title all by themselves.  Minnetonka clearly wanted the victory, and brought their “A” game.

Tonka’s first line set the pace from the start, and Eden Prairie was immediately put back on their heels.  Minnetonka was moving the puck extremely well, overwhelming the Eagles defense with their forechecking, and confusing Eden Prairie with their effective cycling in the offensive zone.  Just minutes into the first period, after a pass from the other point from Sydney Baldwin, Sid Morin ripped a wrister that found the back of the net.  Then a minute later, Hadley Cookson scored what would prove to be the game winner when she scooped up Kira von Steinberg’s rebound and shot it past Eden Prairie’s McKenzie Johnson in goal.  The Eagles then fought back with an unassisted goal by Angie Heppelmann, which briefly lifted their spirits and play.  However, assisted by Laura Bowman and Morin, Diana Draayer scored a few minutes later, and the period ended with Minnetonka leading 3-1, and outshooting the Eagles 21-5.

The Skippers started the second period on a power play, and took little time to take advantage of it.  A minute in, Amy Petersen passed the puck back to Morin at the point, who sent a perfect pass to Bowman on the doorstep, and Bowman rang the bell to make it 4-1.  Minnetonka was in control, and there were few opportunities allowed for Eden Prairie from this point on.  Baldwin would close out the period with a blistering shot for a goal, set up by passes from Bowman and Petersen.

The third period had several good scoring chances for the Skippers, but Morin was the only player to find the net.  Eleven minutes into the period, Petersen passed it to Morin who was breaking in the right side of the zone.  Morin brought the puck in deep, and scored her second goal of the game with a low, hard shot inside the far post.  The game ended with Minnetonka outshooting Eden Prairie 41-14, a final score of 6-1, and with the Skippers securing the Conference Champion banner for the third year in a row.

Congratulations to the JV team as well, who beat the Eden Prairie JV squad 3-1.

The Skippers will play their final home game this Saturday, February 4 and will be honoring the Class of 2012 before the game. Puck drops at 2:00 pm, while the Senior Recogition event will take place at 1:45.

For the Minnetonka team, it was time to take the lesson learned from the last game and apply it to Hornets.  It was Youth night at Pagel and with a spirited crowd cheering on the Skippers, both teams took to the ice in warm up.  It was classic Minnetonka versus Edina.

The first period clearly showed this was a different Skippers team that we have seen, the girls came out ready to play, intense, focused, and fast.  Edina’s game plan was predictable, double team in the red zone and play physical; however,  Tonka did not let up or panic with the puck, every shift seemed methodical.   Both teams shot the puck throughout the first period but the goal tending of Sydney Rossman and Maddie Dahl seemed to be steadfast.  The buzzer sounded and the score was still 0-0 with the shot differential favoring the Skippers by 2 (10-8).

Pagel is Minnetonka’s house and in the second period the Skippers made sure Edina was well aware they were “guests.”   At the 6:38 mark on the clock, the first line took control as Laura Bowman put the puck past Maddie Dahl (assisted by Amy Petersen and Diana Draayer).  Less than two minutes later, Holly “Wingspan” Korn scored her second goal of the season as she found a rebound in the crease and put her name on it.    The intensity increased as the Hornets were now on the receiving end of a “sting” as the Skippers pierced again with a power play goal by Laura Bowman with less than a minute left in the period.  The goal was set up by Amy Petersen and Sidney Morin.   Tonka now had the lead 3-0 and the shots were 9-8 in favor of the Skippers.

The third period the Skippers maintained their game plan of challenging for every loose puck, maintaining possession and clearing the zone.  The play went back and forth as each team had opportunities with power plays and tested penalty kill units.  As the clock started to wind down and it appeared that the Skippers were controlling the game to the very end.  With no other option, Edina pulled their goalie for the last minute and a half.  With six skaters facing her, Sydney Rossman reigned supreme as the “Queen Bee” in net as the Hornets outshot the Skippers by 1 but failed to find access.     When the buzzer sounded the Skippers had played some of the best hockey seen this season, three periods of solid strength and team unity.   The final score favored Tonka 3-0 and the shot count was 19-16.

After the victory, the Skippers enjoyed some well deserved time with the next generation of players.   It was a great Youth Night and for all that enter into the Minnetonka Youth Hockey program the creed is simple 1) Have fun, 2) Learn about the game of Hockey and team play and 3) always beat Edina!  Many thanks to the 10U Youth teams for a great tunnel and to Michael Korn for being the ultimate “Skipper” for the fans!

Next action for the Skippers is on Thursday, February 2 vs. Eden Prairie in the final Lake Conference game for Minnetonka. Join us at 5pm (JV) and 7pm (Varsity)!