The countdown clock for an Edina girl’s hockey championship repeat is on its final ticks. The Hornets dominated the shot chart and advanced to the AA state championship in a 4-2 victory over the Eden Prairie Eagles on Friday night at the Xcel Energy Center.

The Hornets struck first about midway through the first period. A shot from Evelyn Adams at the point was redirected in to the top of the net by Olivia Swaim. Swaim also scored in Edina’s victory over Brainerd/Little Falls yesterday.

It appeared Edina was going to head into the first intermission with a 1-0 lead, but Eden Prairie’s Crystalyn Hengler had other plans. In the final seconds of the period, she was in the right place at the right time and pounced on a loose puck in front of the net to tie the game at 1.

Edina took complete control of puck possession and shots on goal in the second frame. They outshot the Eagles 22-2. Nothing was able to get past Eden Prairie goaltender Alexa Dobchuk, including a barrage of shots from a power play opportunity with under 5 minutes to play. She stood on her head and made every single save in the second to keep the game locked at 1.

Less than 3 minutes in to the third period the Hornets were finally able to solve Dobchuk. A shot from the point by Brook Tucker caught a defender’s stick and bounced into the net, giving Edina a 2-1 lead.

The Hornet’s continuous offensive push resulted in another goal to give them a 3-1 lead. Aaliyah Lance grabbed a loose puck in front and potted it past Dobchuk. But just 10 seconds later, Eden Prairie cut the lead back down to 1. All of a sudden, Ava Wagner’s goal right in front gave the Eagles some momentum back.

In the dying seconds of the 3rd, Eden Prairie gave it everything they had. They nearly knotted it up, but some good work by the Edina defense created an empty net goal for CC Bowlby with 2 seconds left. In the end, an impressive 43 save effort by Alexa Dobchuk wasn’t enough to get the job done for the Eden Prairie Eagles.

The Edina Hornets will face off in the AA championship game tomorrow night against the Centennial Cougars. Eden Prairie and Eagan will battle it out for 3rd place.