West spotlight: Slippery ice in Classic Lake

Jeffrey Thompson, Star Tribune

Edina’s Anders Lee tried to skate through the Holy Angels defense during the third period of the Schwan Cup championship game earlier this month at Xcel Energy Center, which Edina won 5-2. Next week, the Hornets dive into games in the Classic Lake Conference, where three teams ranked in the state’s top 10 play.

With only five teams, Classic Lake competition can be brutal

By BRIAN STENSAAS, Star Tribune

Last update: January 13, 2009 - 4:28 PM

Chad Nyberg's road to being Hopkins' boys' hockey coach started with him playing hockey growing up in Two Harbors. After graduating from St. Olaf, he latched on with Edina's JV hockey program for five years. From there, Nyberg sums up his current post in eight words.

"Hopkins opened up, I applied and got it," he said.

That was five years ago, and it sounds so simple. Winning in the Classic Lake Conference, however, is not.

Small in numbers with only five teams, the talent lives large and is among the best in the state. In the Jan. 8 Let's Play Hockey poll, Edina was ranked second among Class 2A teams with Minnetonka ninth and Wayzata 10th.

Simple math tells you that's 60 percent of the conference with a top-10 ranking.

"It's the toughest in the state," Nyberg said of the Classic Lake. "You lose one ... there's no way to recover like in other conferences."

In other conferences, he continued, "there's room for error -- a little bit anyway -- but not for us. It makes it more difficult, makes it more important."

So far this season, Classic Lake Conference teams have spent their game nights playing opponents from across the state. Beginning next week, the conference matchups begin. From there, the teams will spend the majority of the next month tangling with each other.

As tradition goes, the games will feature big crowds and even bigger hits on the ice. Rivalries are strong between these schools, which are close in proximity but not love.

There is a respect factor; many of the players have known each other for years. But when you're playing in a conference with only four other foes, a league loss stings that much more. Thus the need to be amped up.

"If you don't come ready to play you're not going to win," Minnetonka coach Brian Urick said. "A lot of times you can get by by not showing up playing against a team that is really weak. In our conference, if you don't show up, you're going to get beat. That's a good lesson for these guys."

Veteran Wayzata coach Carl Davis has seen the seemingly constant prowess of Edina, the rise and fall of Robbinsdale Armstrong and the resurgence of Hopkins over the years. He guided the Trojans to state in 2004, Wayzata's first trip to the tournament in 50 years.

He pins the success of Classic Lake Conference teams on players skating in the area from the beginning on through graduation.

"A lot of it has to do with the numbers at the youth level," Davis said. "We all have a lot of depth in our program, and that shows why were so competitive. We can bring two, three strong lines to the game. That's a big part of it."

Because of this talent, there is never time to relax on the bench -- for players or coaches. Urick, who played for Minnetonka in the 1990s, would love the chance to just kick back and watch the Skippers play.

That, though, will have to be left for practices.

"It's intense every night," Urick said of conference games. "But that's what high school hockey is about. It's a lot of fun to play in a conference like this."