Lake Conference Hockey: A Tradition Of Excellence

Last year’s Class AA state hockey tournaments were a clean sweep for the Lake Conference. The Eden Prairie boys team won the state championship, and on the girls side Minnetonka edged Edina for the title.

It’s a trend within the conference for both boys and girls. Last year alone the Lake—comprised of Edina, Wayzata, Eden Prairie, and Minnetonka—had six NHL draft picks, seven total Mr. and Ms. Hockey finalists and four state tournament participants.

“I really and firmly still believe that we are fortunate enough to play in the best high school hockey conference in the country,” Hopkins boys coach Rolf Ulvin said. “The whole conference is really, really competitive.”

These five schools have 47 boys and 12 girls state appearances and 15 state titles. The secret is a mixture of tradition, coaching and youth hockey systems that keep the high school programs full of talent each year.

This season, the Lake has three teams in the girls’ Class AA preseason top 10.

“When you get All-Conference in that conference, that actually means a lot in hockey,” Hopkins graduate Alex Fons said. “That was almost a comparison to All-State, because there are so many great players.”

Numbers don’t lie

Lake Conference hockey schools benefit from high participation rates in its youth hockey programs. 

Edina has the largest youth hockey association in North America with 1,250 participants in 2011-12, according to EYHA president Billy Klein. Minnetonka has 56 youth teams listed on its website, and Wayzata has more than 1,100 participants in its youth association.

Hopkins is in the mix, according to Hopkins Youth Hockey Association President Tim Sweeney, but its numbers lag behind its conference rivals.

“We’re a smaller piece of the pie here,” Sweeney said. “Hopkins is best known as a basketball town, but hockey has got a good, strong following within Hopkins youth and the high school level.”

Sweeney said the HYHA has 350 participants this winter.

He said the reason he’s involved is because of his love for the game.

“It’s just something I want to pass down to my kids,” Sweeney said. “We love it. Hopkins has been a great fit. It’s a great program, and it’s been a wonderful experience.”

Fons, a 2010 graduate who is currently playing in the North American Hockey League for the Fairbanks Ice Dogs, said growing up he didn’t realize just how talented his competition was until high school.

“When we got to be sophomores and juniors and we saw people committing to schools and all the big names are coming out of that one conference,” Fons said. “Other teams in the conference have two or three guys playing college hockey. When you look back and you think you just lived a couple miles apart from each other, it’s pretty special.”

Coaching the talent

Along with the talent and numbers, the Lake Conference is one of the deepest in the state when it comes to coaching. In Edina, boys coach Curt Giles played for the Minnesota North Stars in the NHL, and on the girls side Laura Slominski is a former Ms. Hockey Award winner and a standout for the University of Minnesota women’s hockey team.

Ulvin, Minnetonka girls coach Eric Johnson and Wayzata girls coach Becky Wacker all played college hockey.

“The coaches are outstanding,” Hopkins coach Vin Paolucci said. “We’ve done it for a long time. They’ve played at high levels. I can’t see another conference having five coaches in a conference that have those credentials. It’s an honor to coach with them and against them.”

Wayzata first-year coach Pat O’Leary, who played for the Gophers, said Lake Conference meetings are a who’s who of talent.

“I was sitting there with Giles, Brian (Urick), Lee (Smith),” O’Leary said. “I’m sitting there looking around; it was exciting. They’re great guys, they’re so well respected.”

Each season brings its own level of unpredictability. Even a Lake team with the top regular season record could fall to a conference foe in the postseason.

Ulvin said the support the hockey programs get from their schools makes it even easier to sell the sport and have successful seasons.

“The athletic department in every one of them is really committed to hockey—athletics in general, but specifically hockey,” Ulvin said. “That goes a long ways. They put a priority to it. They’ve realized kind of what it takes to be competitive, and it’s not a small task.”