With Eden Prairie clinging to a 4-3 lead in the final minute of regulation of Wednesday night’s Section 2AA final against Holy Family Catholic, Eagles senior forward Hunter Johannes was whistled for a holding infraction and slowly made his way to the penalty box.

But even facing a potent power play against the No. 5 ranked team in the state, Johannes was convinced that his Eagles would hold firm for the game’s last few moments.

“We’ve got good guys on the ice, so I was confident in them,” Johannes said.

Johannes’ confidence proved infallible, as the Eagles killed the penalty and emerged from the game with the one-goal victory and took their regular season check to the state tournament bank.

Senior defenseman Nicky Leivermann scored a power play goal at the 9:55 mark of the third period for the game-winner, while senior forward Casey Mittelstadt had a goal and two assists.

Sophomore forward Spencer Rudrud also scored a goal for the Eagles, and senior goaltender Nick Wiencek made 25 saves in the win. Nick Michel, Joe Hankinson and Mack Byers all scored once in the loss for the Fire. 

“We have a lot of belief in each other,” Eden Prairie head coach Lee Smith said after the win, which sends the Eagles to their fourth consecutive state tournament. “We just kept throwing our guys out there, and we knew we were wearing them down,” Smith continued.

“We felt really good about the way we played in the second, but when we got that five-minute penalty, the whole game could’ve been over right there,” he said.

Senior forward Nolan Sullivan received a major penalty for boarding with 32 seconds left in the second period with the score tied 2-2, giving the Fire (22-5-1) ample time to take the lead and build on it.

No. 1 ranked Eden Prairie (21-4-2) surrendered just one goal in the five minutes, and the exceptional play a man down has earned the Eagles a day of rest before state tourney prep begins.

“Tomorrow’s going to be a day off, then Friday we’ll come back to work and be ready for a work day,” Smith said.

For Johannes, the work day will simply be another chance for the Eagles to strengthen the bond and camaraderie that has enabled them to win 15 straight games dating back to Jan. 7.

“We all love each other, we all want to win together,” Johannes said. “You gotta play for each other and play as a whole, otherwise you’re not a team.”