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Becker/Big Lake 8, Northern Edge 2

Nobody on the ice had a reason to be proud of their performance when the Northern Edge played the Becker/Big Lake Eagles Thursday, February 8 at Princeton First Bank & Trust Ice Arena. There were 26 penalties in the game, including 10 penalties as a brawl erupted after time expired in the third period.  The Eagles won the game 9-2.

Trouble started in the first period with the Eagles leading 2-0, when an Edge player was ejected at 14:22 for a hit to the head of an Eagle player.  

The Eagles took a penalty 30 seconds later to make it four-on-four, and Zach Monson scored eight seconds after the ensuing faceoff, assisted by Justin Christenson, to cut the Becker/Big Lake lead to 2-1.

The Eagles completely dominated the second period, scoring five goals as they outshot the Edge 20-6.  The rough stuff started with three-plus minutes left in the period, and before the period was over, the referees had handed out four penalties for roughing, one for cross-checking and two for unsportsmanlike conduct.

After the mess late in the second period, most of the third period was played cleanly.  Charlie Haller scored an unassisted goal with exactly three minutes left in the game for the Edge.  But with five seconds remaining, the Edge took a slashing penalty.  All heck broke loose after the final whistle, and when it was all over, the referees handed out eight roughing penalties and one penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. 

They also ejected one of the Eagles.   

Rock Ridge 6, Northern Edge 0

The game between the Northern Edge and the Rock Ridge Wolverines was scoreless at the end of the first period, with the Wolverines outshooting the Edge 9-4.  But the Wolverines erupted for a combined 52 shots in the final two periods and scored six times to shut out the Edge 6-0.  The game was played on Saturday, February 10 at the Eveleth Hippodrome.

Pine City 9, Northern Edge 1

The regular season mercifully ended for the Northern Edge this past Monday, February 12 as they lost to the Pine City Dragons 9-1 at East Bethel Arena.  The Dragons outshot the Edge 46-13 for the game.  Ryan Troxell scored the Edge’s lone goal on a power play six minutes into the second period, assisted by Zach Monson, to spoil the shutout.

Hockey Hullaballoo

We were recently asked why we don’t publish the names of the players who get penalties or are ejected from games, especially since the information is publicly available.  The main reason for not publishing the names is that players, and some spectators, sometimes glorify the violence in hockey, and, at least at the high school level, we don’t feel the need to contribute to that glorification.

Section 7AA Playoff Preview

The Section 7AA playoffs start this Saturday, but the playoff brackets had not been posted as of print deadline The Northern Edge (2-21-1) are the lowest ranked of 72 Class AA teams in the state QRF rankings and will likely be the tenth seed in the Class 7AA playoffs.  Based on the section QRF rankings, the Edge will likely play the Forest Lake Rangers (10-13-1) on Saturday at Forest Lake.  

The brackets should be available at mshsl.org and mnhockeyhub.com.

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