Zac Zimmerman’s 31st goal of the 2024-2025 Boys Hockey season was his most important. Unless of course he repeats Friday’s feat in Saturday night’s Boys Hockey State Tournament Class AA championship game.

Zimmerman hit the net with his second attempt on a power play with 58.1 seconds remaining, propelling No. 1 seed Moorhead past fifth-seed, reigning champion Edina at Xcel Energy Center in downtown St. Paul on Friday, March 7. Thus, Moorhead’s march toward a possible first state championship remains alive.

No matter what, a new champion will be crowned when the Spuds (27-2-1) face No. 2 seed Stillwater Area (24-6) at 7 p.m. Saturday, March 8. Moorhead has finished runner-up eight times, most recently in 2017. The Ponies are in their debut title game.

Edina (21-7-2) will meet St. Thomas Academy (24-6) in the preceding third-place game at 4 p.m.

Championship or not, Moorhead’s tournament has already featured a pair of memorable wins. The Spuds faced three two-goal deficits Thursday against Lakeville South before rallying for a 7-4 victory. They trailed twice on Friday as Edina’s Mason West produced a first-period hat trick that gave the Hornets a 3-2 lead.

Zimmerman scored Moorhead’s first and last goals of the game, first firing from a tight angle on the goal line at 11:43 of the first period. Mason Kraft put Moorhead up 2-1 on a rebound just over a minute later, his 42nd goal this season. 

West restored Edina’s lead, but Moorhead limited the Hornets to three second-period shots on goal and Brooks Cullen tied the score at 3-3 12:04 into the second.

Moorhead goalie Charlie Stenehjem made 20 saves as Edina put 23 shots on goal to the Spuds’ 19.

The win was the third for Moorhead this season over Edina, and the Hornets made it closer each time. It was 4-1 on Nov. 23 and 4-2 on Dec. 26. 

The 19,000-plus fans in attendance on March 7 thank them for making the third meeting the best one yet.