Last Year's Heartbreak Fuels Burnsville Hockey Team

Burnsville boys hockey senior Mason Wyman couldn’t shake the sight of Edina celebrating its Section 2AA championship last season. The Blaze, still shocked by the late goal that gave the Hornets a 3-2 win, watched helplessly from the opposite end of the ice.

It’s a moment Wyman hasn’t forgotten. This summer, he used it as motivation.

“I pretty much made it a goal for myself to get back to that game,” he said. “I made it a mindset that I’m going to make it back to that game and we’re going to win it, and we’re going to beat anyone who is in that game with us. We’re not losing that game again.”

Burnsville has the mentality to rival for a spot in this winter’s state tournament, but the Blaze will need to fit the pieces together correctly to make another section run.

After losing its top scorers from a year ago—Jace Childs’ 48 points and Mike Dockry’s 69 points—as well as goaltender Bodhi Engum and his 16 wins, the Blaze have holes to fill.

But one thing the Blaze have is a group of returning players who are hungry for another shot at a section crown.

“It provided a lot of motivation for the guys coming back this year to work harder in the summer, having it in the back of their minds and trying to get back to it next year,” forward Corey Chapman said.

Burnsville has 10 seniors on its roster this winter who can provide upperclassmen leadership.

In the offensive zone, Chapman is the leading returning scorer. He tallied 22 goals and 28 assists a year ago, while Wyman scored 15 goals and 17 assists as a junior last year.

Wyman said sophomore forwards Tyler Sheehy and Sam Dockry will provide help this season as well.

In net, junior goalies Chris Mallon and Nic Anderson will be vying for playing time to start the year. Coach Janne Kivihalme said each will have the opportunity to earn playing time throughout the year.

“There’s a friendly competition going on for the No. 1 spot,” Kivihalme said. “We’re looking to continue that through the course of the year. If we find a No. 1 goalie out of that, we’ll ride it. But if they keep competing for the No.1  spot and we have a 1-2 combo, I don’t have any problem with that, either.”

The Blaze opened the season Thursday with a 7-3 loss to Minnetonka, and Kivihalme said the biggest area to improve is taking control in the defensive zone. Getting all the new pieces to work together on the same page is the team’s main objective in the early season.

It will be a work in progress putting the pieces together, but the ultimate goal is still the same.

“When we get our ducks in a row, I think we’ll be battling for the conference championship and the section championship,” Kivihalme said. “That’s what we’re working for, and each day we’re trying to get better.”