Minnesota hockey legend Willard Ikola dies at age 92
Go Deeper.
Create an account or log in to save stories.
Like this?
Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.
Minnesota hockey legend Willard Ikola — who won three state high school titles as a player with Eveleth, then coached Edina to eight more — has died.
Edina High School officials announced that Ikola died Monday evening at the age of 92.
Ikola started playing hockey at a young age while growing up in Eveleth on the Iron Range. He was in goal as Eveleth High School won consecutive state titles in 1948, 1949 and 1950 — his sophomore, junior and senior seasons.
Ikola shared memories of those state tournament appearances in an MPR interview in 1993.
Turn Up Your Support
MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all.
“We had a tremendous opportunity up there to play the game as youngsters. We had two inside arenas when I was up there, and of course, it was during the war years, when we were in the early grades there, in early junior high — and we had the opportunity to use those rinks because there was no city team or junior college team because of World War II,” he recalled. “Once we hit the high school squad, we were a pretty well-oiled machine.”
Ikola went on to play for the University of Michigan, winning two national titles. While serving in the U.S. Air Force, he played for the U.S. Olympic team and earned a silver medal at the 1956 Olympics in Italy.
Ikola — “Coach Ike” — then began a 33-year run as coach at Edina, leading the Hornets to eight state titles in 19 state tournament appearances.
“Ike will be remembered for many things, but probably his most notable trademark is his houndstooth hat and his modest attitude towards all his coaching accolades, stating, ‘I never scored a goal or prevented one either, all the credit for our success belongs to the kids,’” read a statement from Edina High School.
Ikola was named Minnesota High School Hockey Coach of the Year six times before he retired in 1991. He was inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 1990.
A statue of Ikola stands outside Edina’s Braemar Arena — located on Ikola Way.
Dear reader,
Political debates with family or friends can get heated. But what if there was a way to handle them better?
You can learn how to have civil political conversations with our new e-book!
Download our free e-book, Talking Sense: Have Hard Political Conversations, Better, and learn how to talk without the tension.
