Legendary high school hockey coach Willard Ikola dies at age 92

A thoroughly great goaltender who somehow went on to have an even more iconic coaching career, Willard Ikola — a titan of Minnesota high school hockey — died Monday. He was 92.

The coach known for wearing a dog hat on the bench turned Edina into a statewide power. In 33 years at the helm, Ikola guided the Hornets to 616 wins, 22 conference titles, 19 division titles and eight state championships.

Before that he was excellent in his own right in the net. Ikola went undefeated over his final three seasons as Eveleth’s starting goalie en route to state titles from 1948-50. He eventually went on to play for the University of Michigan, where he won two NCAA crowns in two tries.

Ikola was also a goalkeeper on the US Olympic team that won silver in 1956 in Italy.

This story will be updated.