Page 6 Lake Conference Hockey • Thursday , December 12 , 2024 sailor . com
EDEN PRAIRIE EAGLES BOYS HOCKEY
Looking to contend in Lake and Section 2AA
JOHN SHERMAN john . sherman @ apgecm . com
With 13 seniors on the roster , the Eden Prairie High boys hockey team hopes to contend for Lake Conference and Section 2AA titles this winter .
The Eagles were a tough out in the playoffs last season with an overall record of 17-9-1 . They finished 5-5-1 Lake Conference games .
“ We have talent and experience on the offensive side along with an elite defense ,” said Alex Hall , one of four senior captains . Hall is the top returning scorer for Eden Prairie . During the 2023-24 season , he scored 12 goals and added 21 assists .
The Eagles received some good news recently when senior captain Nick Koering returned from his USHL team , Muskegon , to play his final season
4 - Senior defenseman Nick Koering 5 - Senior defenseman Connor Nesser 7 - Junior forward Cole Pitzl 8 - Senior forward Mikko Brown 9 - Sophomore forward Jack Peterson 10 - Senior forward Johnny Kleis 11 - Senior forward Rio Treharne 15 - Senior forward Chase Klute 16 - Junior defenseman Nick Bauleke 17 - Senior defenseman Nick Hubbard 18 - Senior defenseman Mike Ertle 21 - Senior defenseman Blake Couet 22 - Sophomore forward Will Elmquist 25 - Sophomore forward Christian Lee 26 - Senior forward Adam Thomas 27 - Senior forward Alex Hall 29 - Senior goalie Keegan Fryar 31 - Junior goalie Bennett Wilmer 33 - Junior defenseman Cameron Rice 44 - Junior forward Nash Saterdalen 45 - Senior forward Gavin Zick
of high school hockey . “ A chance to play with these guys made it an easy decision to come back ,” Koering said before a practice at Eden Prairie Community Center last week . “ We have so much experience and leadership .”
Koering was among the highest-scoring defensemen in the Lake Conference last season with 24 points on 12 goals and 12 assists .
“ Section 2AA is wideopen this season ,” senior forward and captain Johnny Kleis said . “ We have the grit to compete .” Kleis contributed 21 points last season on six goals and 15 assists .
Another senior captain up front , Chase Klute , amassed 25 points on 14 goals and 11 assists .
Unfortunately , the Eagles lost last season ’ s leading scorer , Mason Moe , to the Madison team in the USHL . Moe had 40 points on 23 goals and 17 assists .
No matter which players are on the team , the Eagles have faith in their chemistry and their coaches .
“ We have one of the better coaching staffs in Minnesota ,” Klute said .
“ Our coaches make us not only better players , but also better people ,” Koering said .
“ Mike Terwilliger [ head coach ] is really good at building relationships ,” Hall observed .
( SUN PHOTO BY JOHN SHERMAN )
Eden Prairie High ’ s boys hockey captains for the 2024-25 season are , from left to right : Alex Hall , Chase Klute , Nick Koering and Johnny Kleis .
In addition to the captains , Eden Prairie has high-scoring senior forward Rio Treharne returning from last year . Treharne was second on the team behind Moe with 39 points on 11 goals and 28 assists .
Isaiah Paulnock , who did most of the goaltending last season , graduated along with another senior goalie Jack Mlodozyniec , leaving junior Bennett Wilmer as heir apparent . Senior Keegan Fryar is the other goalie on the varsity roster . “ Keegan had a terrific year on the JV team last season ,” coach Terwilliger said .
In preseason scrimmages , Terwilliger was able to get a look at all of his personnel . “ We rolled four lines and seven defensemen ,” he said . “ We have six forwards with varsity experience along with some defensemen . Nick Koering is one of the best defensemen in the state and an exceptional leader .”
Eden Prairie has a tough schedule ahead with two games against each of the traditional Lake Conference powers - Edina , Minnetonka and Wayzata .
The Eagles will play in two regular-season tournaments - the Edina Holiday Classic at Braemar Arena and the Tradition Tournament in Prior Lake .
“ The Edina tournament is such a great tradition ,” coach Terwilliger said . “ We will play Grand Rapids and Elk River , then the third night [ Saturday ] we play Edina .”
“ The game against Edina in their tournament is always intense ,” captain Koering said . “ There is so much energy in the building .”
There are some new opponents on the 2024- 25 schedule , namely Cretin-Derham Hall and Stillwater .
“ We aren ’ t worried about other teams ,” captain Hall said . “ Our focus is on ourselves .”
Chanhassen beat Minnetonka 2-1 in the Section 2AA championship game last season . The Storm rolled through the first two round at the State Class AA Tournament , but lost to Section 6AA champion Edina in the finals .
Shakopee and Eden Prairie are the two teams with the most experience in Section 2AA and have a fighting chance of supplanting Chanhassen and Minnetonka as the top contenders . Edina ’ s path back to the state tournament runs through a group of 6AA contenders led by Wayzata and Benilde-St . Margaret ’ s .