Author: Steve Mulholland

A large banner, draped across the entrance to Rink 1 at Eden Prairie Community Center Thursday night, read: “We Love Our Seniors!” Underneath the banner was a large photograph of the senior on the Eden Prairie boys hockey team. And yes, “senior” is singular, not plural. Ryan Koering is the lone senior on the Eagles. Before Thursday night’s game with St. Michael-Albertville, parents, coaches and players celebrated senior night for Eden Prairie’s distinguished captain. “It’s special,” Koering said after the game. “It was awesome to have my parents out there and all the guys there supporting me and a couple…

Tested by adversity over the past month, the Eden Prairie Eagles girls basketball team should be pleased with the results of their own progress report following a rematch with top-ranked Hopkins on Tuesday. “Oh, I think I think we’re exactly where we need to be,” head coach Ellen Wiese said after the game. A cold Friday night in mid-January now seems like ancient history. The Eagles were playing on the road at Hopkins without Kylie Bamlett – a senior captain and the heart of their defense – who had suffered an ankle injury against Minnetonka the week before. Despite a…

Monday, Feb. 6 No events are scheduled. Tuesday, Feb. 7 A big week for Eagles sports and events kicks off on Tuesday with the girls gymnastics team hosting Minneapolis Southwest for a varsity scrimmage in the EPHS small gym room 233. Competition begins at 5 p.m. Coming off wins over Edina and Minnetonka last week, the sixth-ranked Eden Prairie girls basketball team hosts No. 1-ranked Hopkins in the main gymnasium at EPHS. Tip-off is 7 p.m. Girls basketball 9A, 1o and JV teams will also square off with Hopkins at Eden Prairie. The Eagles boys basketball team travels to Hopkins…

The color had finally returned to Dylan Vornwald’s face. “He was about that color gray at the end of the game last Tuesday,” Eden Prairie boys hockey head coach Mike Terwilliger said, equating Vornwald’s pallor after Tuesday’s game in Stillwater to a carbon fiber hockey stick leaning against the wall. The junior defenseman had been out with an illness for several games before returning to the lineup in the Eagles’ 6-4 win over the Ponies. Fast-forward to Saturday night, when Vornwald and the Eagles put together their second win in a row, making the long climb back to .500 for…

For the second time this season, a game involving the Eden Prairie High School girls hockey team was delayed by a Zamboni malfunction. The third period between the Eagles and Holy Angels was in a holding pattern Friday night, while the crew at the Eden Prairie Community Center tried to get the rink-locked Zamboni off the ice. The machine had almost completed its rounds, adding a fresh layer to Rink 1, when it stopped near center ice and remained motionless for approximately 10 minutes. “Well, it’s electric,” Dean Running, the event lead at EPCC, said. “We put it on the…

Head coach Steve Persian sat alone on the Eagles’ bench at Eden Prairie Community Center Friday night, after his girls hockey team had defeated Holy Angels in overtime. It was senior night for the Eagles, marking their last game of the regular season. And they certainly rose to meet the moment, writing the perfect ending to an emotionally-charged and eventful night. With the score tied at one, at 3:43 of the overtime period, senior captain Jordan Hirsch buried the rebound off a shot from fellow senior captain Paige Holt, giving the Eagles a 2-1 victory over the state’s second-ranked team…

The Eden Prairie Eagles wrestling team, ranked fourth in the state by wrestling website The Guillotine, went two-for-three on Thursday, while hosting a quad meet in the main gymnasium at Eden Prairie High School. The Eagles defeated Chaska-Chanhassen 59-6 in their first dual, yielding their only points on a forfeit in the 170-pound class. Eden Prairie fell to Hudson 32-38 in the second dual, having been forced to forfeit in both the 170 and 195-pound classes. The Eagles closed out the quad by cruising to a 48-21 win over Osseo in the third dual meet of the night. The Eagles…

It was “jersey night” at Eden Prairie Community Center, when Jackson Welo, a first grader in teacher Mike Terwilliger’s class at Cedar Ridge Elementary, got the thrill of his young hockey career. Jackson, who plays on the “Mite 2 Red” team in the Eden Prairie Hockey Association, recently joined his teammates, along with a large gathering of youth players, to watch the EPHS boys team clash with Buffalo in a Lake Conference matchup. It was a busy night at EPCC, with the young Eagles proudly wearing their red and black jerseys to support Eden Prairie in their 3-2 victory over…

With hard work and dedication both in and out of the classroom, 15 Eden Prairie High School (EPHS) student/athletes have earned scholarships in their chosen sport. They made it official in a ceremony on Wednesday at the high school by signing their national letters of intent (NLI) on national signing day. The Eagles’ signees come from a variety of sports, including boys hockey, boys swimming and diving, football, girls basketball, girls lacrosse, girls soccer, and volleyball. Wednesday, Feb. 1, marks the first day many high school recruits may sign their national letters of intent to Division I and Division II…

You might call it the “first game of the rest of the season” for the Eden Prairie boys basketball team. After losing senior Adam Mertens for the rest of the season to a fractured ankle suffered last week against Wayzata, the Eagles welcomed the return of two senior leaders to the lineup when they took on the Edina Hornets Tuesday night at the Edina Community Center. Leading scorer Luke Rapp was back on the floor for the first time since he was sidelined with a high ankle sprain in a game against St. Michael-Albertville on Jan. 20. Meanwhile, senior guard…