A Tradition Of Hockey Excellence

Last February in front of a packed Xcel Energy Center, Amy Petersen–a sophomore on the Minnetonka girls hockey team–made school history. The Skippers' forward scored a late goal in the Class AA state championship game over Edina, handing Minnetonka its first girls hockey state title.

The win officially put Minnetonka atop Minnesota’s girls hockey mountain and, in a who’s who of hockey talent in the Lake Conference, made the Skippers the team to beat.

It’s a trend within the conference for both boys and girls. Last year alone the Lake Conference—comprised of Edina, Wayzata, Eden Prairie, Hopkins and Minnetonka—had six NHL draft picks, seven total Mr. and Ms. Hockey finalists and won both the boys and girls Class AA titles.

“It’s a great benefit to all of us to be able to play at that level in January, when most of our games occur,” said Eric Johnson, the Skippers' girls coach. “I know that all conferences can’t say the same top to bottom that all of their teams are competitive.”

These five schools have 47 boys and 12 girls state appearances and 15 state titles. The secret is a mixture of tradition, coaching and youth hockey systems that keep the high school programs full of talent each year.

This season, the Lake has three teams in the girls’ Class AA preseason top 10.

“I really and firmly still believe that we are fortunate enough to play in the best high school hockey conference in the country,” Hopkins coach Rolf Ulvin said. “The whole conference is really, really competitive.”

Numbers don’t lie

Minnetonka boys hockey coach Brian Urick said the biggest attribute Lake Conference high school programs have is a strong youth association. 

“They’ve got so many kids playing at the youth level,” Urick said. “We have more numbers than a lot of schools in the area, and hockey is such a big thing for these communities. It’s so easy on us to pick talent. The bigger the pool, and you’re going to have more options.”

The Edina Youth Hockey Association is the largest in North America, said Billy Klein, the association's president. Edina has 1,250 players in its program.

The Minnetonka Youth Hockey Association website lists 56 boys and girls youth teams.

“That’s where the players come from, and I’d say they are probably five teams in the top 10 in the state in terms of numbers,” Johnson said. “The more numbers you have coming up in high school, the deeper the talent pools. It’s probably the youth association all the way.”

The tradition is on full display at , where youth and high school banners showing off past accomplishments and motivate kids of all ages to continue working on their craft.

The end result is a bond between teammates that translates into success, Urick said. 

“You take a lot of pride in it,” Urick said. “Trying to beat these teams and competing with them every night. It’s the best hockey around at an amateur level. The bond these kids have together, and I’ve played college level and pro hockey. No other teams have bonds like this. They’ve been together for so many years, and to be part of it is so rewarding.”

Coaching the talent

Along with the talent and numbers, the Lake Conference is one of the deepest in the state when it comes to coaching. In Edina, boys coach Curt Giles played for the Minnesota North Stars in the NHL, and on the girls side Laura Slominski is a former Ms. Hockey Award winner and a standout for the University of Minnesota women’s hockey team.

Johnson, Hopkins boys coach Rolf Ulvin and Wayzata girls coach Becky Wacker all played college hockey.

“The coaches are outstanding,” said Vin Paolucci, a coach at Hopkins. “We’ve done it for a long time. They’ve played at high levels. I can’t see another conference having five coaches in a conference that have those credentials. It’s an honor to coach with them and against them.”

First-year Wayzata boys coach Pat O’Leary, who played for the Gophers, said Lake Conference meetings are a who’s who of talent.

“I was sitting there with Giles, Brian (Urick), Lee (Smith),” O’Leary said. “I’m sitting there looking around; it was exciting. They’re great guys, they’re so well respected.”

Each season brings its own level of unpredictability. Even a Lake team with the top regular season record could fall to a conference foe in the postseason.

These five teams give each other their best effort every night.

“Those five schools compete very well,” Edina athletic director John Soma said. “You feel fortunate to have that type of competition but almost shocked by this area of the metro that competes at this level.”