Edina copes with burden of lofty tourney expectations

Professional athletes often acknowledge the thrill of victory is overshadowed by the sense of relief from avoiding failure. For better or worse, the Edina boys' hockey team can relate.

"You hear about it every year: 'When is Edina going to win another state championship?'" senior defenseman Joe Gleason said. "There is a lot of pressure. Every year we don't win it in Edina, it is a disappointing year. People expect the best from you, and you want to be the best. You've got to deal with it."

The Hornets (26-2) last took the state title in 1997, and for many of their faithful it's been too long between celebrations. When the players take the ice at Xcel Energy Center on Thursday to face Cloquet-Esko-Carlton (15-11-2), they will be aware of the impatience that surrounds them.

"They are aware of a lot of things," said coach Curt Giles, in his 10th season behind the Edina bench. "But the thing I like about this team and the thing they are the most aware of is each other. They hear '1997,' and I'm sure they are reminded by some of the people in town about it."

A year ago Edina took a talented team to the state tournament with a legitimate chance of winning it all. The Hornets lost to Grand Rapids 3-1 in the quarterfinals. Giles refuses to consider that team a disappointment and said he has had only two teams that he feels underachieved.

"We do the best job with what we have each and every year," Giles said. "The things is, we [as coaches] don't look at this as winning championships. We look at it as real good kids coming through the program. We want them as mature and as ready to leave high school as possible.

"I'm not going to kid you and say we wouldn't like to win a championship. But the biggest focus is on getting these kids ready for life after high school."

Senior goaltender Derrick Caschetta pointed out that this is the first group of players in a number of years that has stayed in the Edina system through their senior years. He mentioned Joe Finley and Nate Hagemo as examples of top-end players who left to play junior hockey (Hagemo played in high school at Holy Angels and later for the U.S. National Development Team).

"If we would have kept all our players over the years I think there would be a couple more banners hanging," Caschetta said. "Sometimes you have to admit you don't have the talent you'd like to have."

There are no such admissions this season. The Hornets -- including All-Metro forwards Zach Budish and Marshall Everson -- are talented and deep, with a roster full of players who have had success throughout their young careers.

"Our second year of Bantams [ninth grade] we won the state championship with this same group of kids," Gleason said. "And we have a great addition in Anders Lee [a transfer from St. Thomas Academy]. So, talentwise, we've got all the pieces to the puzzle. It's just whether we can put three games together at the end of the year."

Gleason said last year's team, while talented, probably succumbed to lack of experience in dealing with the hype of postseason play. Caschetta agreed. Edina has played in front of big crowds throughout this season, including nearly 10,000 at Mariucci Arena last week for the Section 2 final.

"We're used to it," Gleason said. "We'll be ready."