Reusse: Edina-Minnetonka hockey showdown to benefit ‘Sophie’s Squad’

The Minnesota high school hockey tournament started its ascent from a clubby event held in the smallish St. Paul auditorium to a statewide obsession when it moved to Bloomington’s Met Center in 1969.

There was a crowd of 15,000 on a raucous Saturday night, with Edina defeating Warroad 5-4 in overtime to win its first-ever state title.

Skip Thomas scored the winner with a sizzling slap shot early in overtime. According to a promising young prep reporter named Reusse for the Pioneer Press, the crowd roared its disapproval when the winning goal was scored, and booed mightily throughout the postgame awards ceremony.

This extreme unhappiness with the Hornets’ victory was more than big school vs. small school. It was based on Warroad superstar Henry Boucha being knocked from the game after a check by Edina’s Jim Knutson.

Rather than reliving the remainder of that drama, we can move 54 years forward, to late September 2023, when Boucha had died at age 72, and a funeral was being held in Warroad. Among those in attendance was Knutson, as he and the Great Ojibwe from the far north had become friends through the years.

This is year 75 of the Edina boys program, year 30 for the girls program and year 60 for Braemar Arena. There have been 14 state titles for the boys starting with 1969, and five for the girls starting with 2017. Edina won both the boys and girls in 2019, and again last season.

And this might be a rare time for going against a popular opinion, but in my drop-ins for Edina hockey, I’ve found most involved — including parents — to be classy folks.

This is the growing mental health initiative named in memory of Sophie Wieland, a 14-year-old hockey player from Sartell who took her life in 2021.

The effort started with a modest financial goal in the Sartell area and now has produced fundraisers in hockey rinks throughout Minnesota — plus other outlets.

Edina defeated top-seeded Minnetonka, 4-3, in the state girls semifinals last February. The Skippers were scheduled to play at Braemar this weekend. The two programs agreed to make it a Friday game and sell it as a “Pack the Stands” fundraiser for Sophie’s Squad.

Laura Horton, the mother of senior Whitney and sophomore Lilly on the Edina varsity, was among the main organizers.

“We wound up playing Minnetonka in the finals of our Walser tournament last month, but this game was the biggest on our home schedule before the season,” Horton said. “We wanted to make it special; both for Sophie’s Squad, and trying to grow the fan base for girls hockey.

The admission fees have been covered by a sponsor. There is going to be a gigantic puck throw — 400 pucks, $10 apiece, prizes for landing in the various faceoff circles donated.

There are also going to be a half-dozen or more members of the Minnesota women’s pro team in attendance. “They already have become outstanding role models for high school players and younger girls,” Horton said.

Fair enough … but that nickname, Frost?

I asked this question of the person sitting to the right at Tuesday night’s Edina-Wayzata game (Edina, 4-1) at Braemar.

Bonnie Hankinson shook her head and said: “I think they could have come up with a name more exciting.”

I once spent much of the day driving up and back to Eveleth with Willard Ikola, the Hornets’ coaching legend. What a story listening day that was — six hours in the car with Ike, 2-3 hours visiting John Mayasich.

It didn’t top this, though:

Peter and Ben Hankinson were playing for the Gophers and Casey for Edina. I encounter Bonnie at Mariucci, she takes my shirt collar in her right hand and says, “You start writing nice things about hockey.”

Took the command. Visited the Hankinson house in Edina, where husband, John, would flood a backyard rink and shovel it before dawn for the three sons.

John — outstanding Gophers quarterback, NFL camps, golf course developer, married to Gophers cheerleader Bonnie Nyberg from Willmar — died in 2020 at 77.

“I have a story about this one,” Bonnie said. “Casey brings me this letter and says, ‘Sign this.’ It’s for a scholarship at Wisconsin. I said, ‘I’m not signing this.’ He says, ‘Mom, it’s for a ride to Wisconsin.’ I said, ‘I know. That’s why I’m not signing it. You’re not going to be a Badger.’ And then [Gophers coach Doug] Woog came around.”

Casey became a four-year Gopher, totaled 50 goals and pushed the three brothers’ total to 181.