Senior forward Bobby Cowan scored twice and added an assist as No. 1 seed Edina cruised past No. 5 seed Grand Rapids 5-2 on Friday in a state Class 2A semifinal at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.
Cowan, a University of St. Thomas commit, scored one of Edina’s four first-period goals, making it 4-0, and added another early in the third to put the Hornets ahead 5-0.
Grand Rapids rallied in the second half of the third, getting its two goals from Kyler Miller and Jacob Garski.
Jackson Nevers, John Halverson and John Warpinski also scored in the first period for the Hornets (24-4-1), ranked No. 3 in Class 2A.
Edina’s final three goals in the first came in a span of 2:48. Cowan’s goal came with 1:40 left in the period.
The Hornets outshot the No. 16-2A Thunderhawks (18-11-0) 13-7 in the first period, 9-5 in the second and 31-18 overall.
Edina beat Grand Rapids 6-2 on Dec. 14 in Edina in the teams’ lone regular season meeting.
Bobby Cowan's goal with 1:40 left in the first period put Edina ahead 4-0, completed a what Grand Rapids coach Grant Clafton called a "tornado" of goals and put the Thunderhawks in a deep, deep hole.
14 - Jackson Nevers' first-period goal pushed his scoring streak to 14 games.
2-11 - Bobby Cowan recorded two goals and posted an 11-1 face-off mark.
6 - Six of the 13 penalties were whistled in the third period.
Off the ice we’re all pretty good friends, but heading into tomorrow we’re going to be enemies.
— Edina senior Jackson Nevers on the relationship between the Hornets and players from Chanhassen