Benilde St. Margaret's and Edina punch their 2A tickets

Jack Jablonski flashed a toothy grin as his motorized wheelchair headed toward Benilde-St. Margaret's boys' hockey coach Ken Pauly.

Pauly smiled back as he laid his hand on the crown of Jablonski's head.

No words exchanged. None needed.

A 5-1 victory over No. 1 seed and No. 2-ranked Minnetonka (24-4) in Wednesday's Class 2A, Section 6 championship game sends No. 3 seed and No. 6-ranked Benilde-St. Margaret's (22-6) to next week's state tournament for the first time in four years.

Jablonski joined his teammates on the Mariucci Arena ice for the postgame handshake and transported the section trophy to the Red Knights' appreciative student section. Jablonski was severely injured by a check from behind into the boards in a junior varsity game on Dec. 30.

His presence, coupled with his team's victory, made Wednesday a date many will remember.

"You can't overplay the Jabby card but I guess you can't underestimate the power of that sort of motivation, that love for a teammate and what that does for you," Pauly said.

Zach Hale burst through a seam in the Skippers defense and put the puck over goalie Paul Ciaccio's right shoulder at 2:24 of the first period.

Adding to their quick lead, the Red Knights finished a 3-on-1 as seniors Christian Horn and Jake O'Borsky connected at 6:31.

A Minnetonka goal by Sam Rothstein cut the lead to 2-1 after the first period.

But O'Borsky's second goal, scored on the power play with less than two minutes to play in the second period, devastated the Skippers.

"That was pretty much the game right there," Minnetonka coach Brian Urick said. "We weren't generating much. They have a lot of skill and they used their speed."

Goals scored 33 seconds apart by Miguel Fidler and Connor Hurley provided No. 1 seed and No. 4-ranked Edina (23-5) the necessary cushion to ensure a sixth consecutive trip to the state tournament with a 6-3 victory over Burnsville.

"That's what funny about these kids, they don't give you the feeling like they're panicking," Edina coach Curt Giles said. "They just work hard to make good things happen."

Jake Maxson got No. 2 seed Burnsville (17-10-1) off to a fast start with a goal just 50 seconds into the game. But Edina got the next three goals from Hurley and the Nanne brothers, Tyler and Louie.