Victories over Maple Grove and Cretin-Derham Hall, which are both top-10 ranked teams in the Class 2A coaches’ poll, is hardly enough to merit any sense of satisfaction for No. 3-2A Edina. 

“We’re pretty excited about how we’ve started, but we know we have a long way to go,” Hornets coach Laura Slominksi said after her team defeated No. 10 Cretin-Derham Hall 3-0 Friday night at Braemar Ice Arena in a game that, on paper, fails to show how dominant Edina was on the ice. 

Slominski added that she and her team look forward to improving as the season goes on.

“We’re proud of where we’re at, but more excited to see where we’ll be in a few weeks,” she said.

Whether the Hornets improve in the coming weeks in still up in the air, but one thing is certain: they are young. 

With just three seniors on the varsity roster, Edina’s starting lineup Friday night featured three sophomores and a freshman, in addition to juniors in forward Sophie Slattery and goaltender Anna Goldstein. 

“The younger (players) kind of hold their own ground,” Goldstein said of the dynamic between the team's upper- and underclassmen. 

“It’s kind of weird being one of the older ones,” added Goldstein, a co-captain who made nine saves to earn the shutout on Friday.

“But I guess I’ll get used to it soon,” she said with a smile. 

One of those holding their ground is sophomore forward Emily Oden, who started and scored the Hornets’ final goal against the Raiders. She was also a consistent nuisance for the Cretin-Derham Hall defense. 

“You can’t win a game unless you play defense,” Oden said, adding that defense is a top priority for Edina. “That’s what we have to cover first.”

Oden scored 23 goals and 35 points last season as the Hornets finished third at the Class 2A state tournament after falling to eventual state champion Hill-Murray 2-1 in the semifinals. 

That loss may have ended Edina’s hopes for a state title, but Goldstein said that Hornets fans raved about the atmosphere of the game. 

“A lot of our fans told us that last season, our second state game was one of the most fun games they’d ever been to,” Goldstein said. 

“And the section final,” Oden added, alluding to the Hornets’ thrilling 4-3 victory over then top-ranked Eden Prairie in overtime in the Section 2 finals. 

The fan support has continued into this season, with a decent crowd and vocal student section cheering on the Hornets. 

That crowd included the Edina Under-10 White “A” girls’  hockey team, which is coached by former Hornets defender and 2015 graduate Emma Schatz. 

The younger girls were treated to a postgame locker room tour and a few minutes of face time with the varsity players. 

“They came and cheered us on tonight,” Slominski said. “We wanted to give them a chance to come see our locker room and meet the girls.”

That connection between the youth level and varsity team is something Slominski said is a byproduct of strong community backing and a commitment to building girls’ hockey in Edina. 

“Girls' hockey is in a state where you need to make sure you’re working hard to build that youth program,” Slominski said. 

“People in Edina have done such a great job of building a huge foundation for us,” Slominski added. “So as a high school program, we’re just trying to find ways to connect back with (the youth teams).”

Three different players scored as Edina cruised past Cretin-Derham Hall 3-0 on Friday night at Braemar Ice Arena in Edina. 

Sophomore forward Aliyah Lance opened the scoring for the Hornets in the first period, tapping in a shot off a faceoff in the Raiders’ zone. 

Junior forward Anna Klein and sophomore forward Emily Oden each added a goal in the second period to stretch the Edina lead to 3-0. 

Junior goaltender Anna Goldstein made nine saves to earn the shutout for the Hornets (2-0-0), who are ranked No. 3 in the Class 2A coaches' poll. 

Freshman goaltender Megan Meyers made 18 saves for the No. 10-2A Raiders (1-2-0). 

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