Hornets shut out third foe in a row
The Edina girls' hockey team led 1-0 late, aware the final 65 seconds could undo almost 50 minutes of near-flawless effort.
Eastview felt confident. The Lightning won the Section 3 semifinal and championship games with comeback victories in overtime. Junior forward Natalie Snodgrass scored both winning goals.
The puck found her stick in a scrum near the Edina goal but no magic could she muster. No. 2 seed Edina (20-7-1) escaped with the 1-0 victory against Eastview (18-7-4) at Xcel Energy Center.
Relief filled Edina coach Laura Slominski, whose team struggled in similar situations. During a three-game stretch in January, the Hornets' allowed five third period goals — three within the final 33 seconds.
A better defensive effort Thursday saw them block more shots (18) than the Lightning got to the net (17).
Snodgrass attempted 19 shots but only seven were on goal.
Edina junior defenseman Grace Bowlby said the focus was taking away time and space from Snodgrass "because we knew if she got a shot off it was likely going to go in."
