In the Class 2A state championship last season, Eden Prairie fell to Wayzata, 5-3. They had a big number of returning players, which easily made them a top team from the get go. However, the status of their best player, Casey Mittelstadt, was in doubt as he reportedly contemplated finishing high school early so he could begin playing at the University of Minnesota in the fall.
Mittelstadt decided to return to Eden Prairie for his senior season, so he and the Eagles could finish their goal of winning the state title. They opened the season as one of the best teams in the state, and managed to hold onto that title throughout the season.
Eagles head coach Lee Smith commented on the pressure throughout the season by saying, “This team had a lot of pressure on them from the start, but they were resilient.”
Eden Prairie was tested in the section playoffs, as they needed comebacks against Prior Lake (2-1) and Holy Family (4-3), but they did make it back to the State Tournament to keep their goal alive. They were tested again in the quarterfinals on Thursday night, as they managed to hold off defending champs Wayzata, 3-1.
The dream was still alive. They just needed two more wins.
That dream of the state title came to an abrupt end on Friday night as the Eagles fell in the semifinals 3-2 to the Grand Rapids Thunderhawks.
Eden Prairie left nothing on the ice Friday night, as they threw everything but the kitchen sink at Thunderhawks goalie Zach Stejskal. The Eagles managed to put 49 shots on Stejskal, while throwing another 45 shots (23 missed shots, 22 blocked shots) his way, that did not make it on goal.
“I’m proud of the way we played,” Smith said. “The only thing you can regret is that we had a lot of pucks that missed the net.”
It was a physical contest Friday night, something the Eagles were accustomed to playing all season. “Our kids are big and strong. We played that way for the most part of the season,” said Smith. But despite the comfort with the physical game, it just did not translate into success for Eden Prairie. The Eagles just could not find that next goal.
Striking first in the game was Eden Prairie, as Ryan Lesko put home a bad rebound from Stejskal to give them a 1-0 lead. Shortly after, forward Jarod Blackowiak came streaking down the wing, and nearly made it 2-0, but his shot found the post instead of the net.
From that point forward, Grand Rapids seemingly had all the “puck luck” in the world.
Grand Rapids scored with 1:09 to play in the first, thanks to the aforementioned puck luck. Forward John Stampohar threw a puck on net that deflected off Mittelstadt’s stick and into the goal. They Thunderhawks scored again in the second, as a puck went right through the feet of defenseman Nicky Leivermann (*ahem* puck luck), and Keaghan Graeber flew right by and put one top-shelf on goaltender Nick Wiencek. Eden Prairie did fire back as Jack Jensen scored the equalizer to send the game tied into the intermission.
But into the third, Eden Prairie really dialed up the pressure. But the pucks just floated wide of the net or through the crease. The Eagles registered 41 shot attempts in the third period, but only 24 managed to get on net. Smith couldn’t help but wonder about some of the ones that missed. “We didn’t have a ton of puck luck,” he said. “We had pucks going through the crease [all night].”
Just past the halfway mark of the third period, Connor Stefan scored off a great centering feed from Graeber. Half the period still remained, but the Eagles were down a goal. It was certainly not a new feeling to them, as they had battled back in the three games leading up to this point.
Nothing got by Stejskal in the final half of the third. The Eagles’ best players were out on the ice for seemingly the last two minutes of the hockey game, but nothing was able to get in. They couldn’t find that equalizer. It was over.
The dream of winning the state tournament was dead.
After the game, some of those seniors — who also lost in last year’s title game — came back out onto the bench just sitting in stunned silence.
They knew the dream fell short.
In the end they’d capped an impressive two-year run despite the loss. They’d been the State runner-up and had captured a spot in Saturday’s third-place game. Most get a shot one year, but then don’t get that chance again. This team did, and that’s impressive, given how competitive Class AA is every year. Sometime down the line, they’ll realize what a great run this was.
It just might take a while.
“It’s not easy to win the state tournament,” Smith said. “It takes a lot of things to happen right [to win it all]. Our play was good enough to be a state champion, but the hockey gods and puck luck weren’t on our side tonight.”
After the game, some of those seniors — who also lost in last year’s title game — came back out onto the bench just sitting in stunned silence.
After it was over, Smith reflected on his seniors (including Mittelstadt, who was unavailable for comment after the game) that gave it all not just on Friday night, but all season.
“There are 11 seniors in that room that are terribly disappointed with the way [the season] ended,” Smith said. “It will be hard to replace those guys, they’re quality kids. Not just in our[hockey] program, but in our school.”
