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Eden Prairie roars back to defeat Chaska in the Class 2A, Section 2 semifinals

By Heather Rule, SportsEngine, 02/14/17, 7:45PM CST

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After going down 1-0, the Eagles scored four straight, with three players notching two points.



Eden Prairie junior and Minnesota commit Crystalyn Hengler (13) scored just a minute after Chaska/Chanhassen had taken a 1-0 lead. The Eagles would go on to win 4-1 and advance the the Class 2A, Section 2 final. Photo by Cheryl Myers, SportsEngine


The Class 2A girls’ hockey defending state champion Eden Prairie took care of business with a 4-1 win in its first section tournament game, as they look to get back to the state tournament for the fourth time in five years.

Eagles coach Jaime Grossman said his team has been up and down at times this season.

“But I feel like we’re peaking at the right time,” he said. 

The Eagles (18-6-2) beat No. 11-ranked Chaska/Chanhassen (18-9) in the Class 2A, Section 2 semifinals Tuesday at Braemar Ice Arena in Edina. The Eagles are ranked No. 5 in Class 2A by the state coaches' poll and hold the No. 1 seed in the section bracket, while the No. 11-4A Storm Hawks were the No. 4 seed.  

Senior forward and University of Minnesota-Duluth commit Naomi Rogge buzzed around the goalmouth all game but was held off the scoresheet until the third period. She gave the Eagles a 3-1 lead early in the final frame by jamming home a rebound and then scored a power-play goal less than two minutes later to make it 4-1. Senior Emily McLaughlin assisted on both goals. 

They only needed one thing to complete their game by the time the third period rolled around, according to Rogge. 

“Just putting the puck in the net, I think, is the only thing we were missing,” Rogge said, about the first two periods. “They could easily get a lucky bounce and get right back in this game, so we’ve just got to get the bounces our way and keep crashing the net.” 

It was the Storm Hawks that got on the board first just 3:40 into the game. The puck squirted out front to senior defender Ellie Snuggerud who lifted the it for a top-shelf goal, just her second tally of the season. 

Exactly 60 seconds later, Eden Prairie junior defender Crystalyn Hengler scored her 11th of the season to tie the game at 1-1 and the Eagles never looked back. 

“Once we started getting patient with the puck and getting back out to our points and loosening up their D, we saw a little bit more success,” Grossman said. 

Kasandra Bienkowski put the Eagles ahead 2-1 in the second, but, despite a lopsided 22-9 shots-on-goal count in favor of Eden Prairie, it was still a one-goal game as the third period began.

Chaska/Chanhassen senior goalie Erica Peterson made 25 saves to keep her team very much in the game. Junior Alexa Dobchuk stopped 14 pucks for the Eagles. 

Eden Prairie is on a four-game winning streak and had a bye in the section quarterfinals, although a bye isn’t always an advantage in the girls’ game, Grossman said. 

The Storm Hawks saw their season and their 11-game winning streak come to an end with the loss. They knew they have to play pretty much a “mistake-free game” in order to beat the Eagles, said coach Jeff Wahl. 

“We just didn’t quite have the jump,” he said. “We didn’t bury a couple of the chances that we had.”


Naomi Rogge (9) scored twice in the third period, securing Eden Prairie's win. The Eagles move on to the section finals on Friday night at Ridder Arena. Photo by Cheryl Myers, SportsEngine


First Report

Eden Prairie, the Class 2A girls’ hockey defending state champion, took care of business in its first section tournament game with a 4-1 win over Chaska/Chanhassen on Tuesday night at Braemar Ice Arena.

The Eagles, ranked No. 5 in Class 2A by the state coaches poll, are the No. 1 seed in Section 2 and received a bye in the quarterfinals, while the No. 11-2A Storm Hawks were the No. 4 seed. 

Senior forward and University of Minnesota-Duluth commit Naomi Rogge buzzed around the goalmouth all game but was held off the scoresheet until the third period. She gave Eden Prairie (18-6-2) a 3-1 lead early in the final frame by jamming home a rebound and, less than two minutes later, scored a power-play goal to make it 4-1. Senior Emily McLaughlin assisted on both goals. 

It was Chaska/Chanhassen (18-9) that got on the board first, scoring just 3:40 into the game. The puck squirted out front to senior defender Ellie Snuggerud who lifted it for a top-shelf goal, just her second of the season. 

Exactly 60 seconds later, Eagles’ junior defender Crystalyn Hengler scored her 11th of the season for and Eden Prairie didn't look back. 

The Eagles went ahead 2-1 on a goal that went off senior forward Kasandra Bienkowski’s stick into the back of the net. It was originally credited to Sammie Morton, but instead she got her second assist of the game and 22nd of the season. Freshman Sydney Langseth assisted on both of Eden Prairie's first two goals.  

Storm Hawks senior goalie Erica Peterson made 25 saves to keep her team very much in the game. Junior Alexa Dobchuk stopped 14 pucks for the Eagles. 

Photo Gallery



Senior defenseman Ellie Snuggerud scored the game's first, and Chaska/Chanhassen's only, goal early in the first period. Photo by Cheryl Myers, SportsEngine

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