[Music] ID lost a true legend last month when Willert Iola passed away at the age of 92 following a successful career as a hockey goalie including leading the US team to an Olympic silver medal coach Ike served as the din boys hockey coach from 1958 until 1991 with the help of archival interviews of Coach Ike himself Edina TV presents a look back at the man and the career that helped Define Edina hockey forever we will now ask you to please join us in a moment of silence for our Edina coaching Legend and just as it did for his coaching career coach Mela signature Hound to hat will join the Hornets on the bench this evening my first year at Ed High School hockey was coach Ike's first year not coaching I had grown up all these years watching my brothers play looking at the Fedora behind the bench stern look note card in hand and always wanting to play for Ike any D of hockey well uh I got here in in uh uh 5758 uh I came out of the service and this was my first coaching job was Edina he was a motivator he was good with words he pulled you into the coach's room sometimes and you had some little one-on ones but it was all positive everything was POS positive and that's what I can say about him is most positive guy I've ever met at that time there was nothing written about hockey there was no manuals no books written on hockey the only way you learn as a coach is by talking to other coaches and which I did that summer I was lucky to get rehired again beina Hockey didn't exist really I mean we had some great coaches and some people came in but you know on the term cake eaters he created the cake eaters he created the success and what I love about it he did it with an Iron Range feel of hard work and discipline he get you into in drills and he's kind of making you pay a little I mean you paid attention to to to what he said because there was always repercussions from and but he was so good at it ath had a rink I believe in International Falls had a rank uh indoor and that was a big deal because then you could play outside of the elements and there was no rank down in in Minneapolis at that time in ' 6566 Brer was built and that really turned the tight for us uh not only for us but for our association good conditions no wind and we had some good kids coming up that were coming through the system I played 67 68 and 69 69 we were the first state champions he was really good at helping you keep your cool and he'd always get on the bus and say got your blades blades mouthpiece here we go let's go play some hardnose hockey and and let's go out there together so we won the first title in 69 and without Brar I don't think that would have been imp possible it really helped our program not only at the high school but at the youth program and and I said many times that you're only as strong as that VI pram you go as a young kid and you say I want to be a part of that I want to be a part of that and and that's what I think has been really neat about the legacy of a hockey but that's what he started is I want to be a part of something everybody wanted to play for him I mean that everybody was so focused on Ika because he was such a predominent piece of the and everybody knew him and every little kid wanted to play for him we had some players like like a Dave mey you know who played in the National Hockey League when the Stanley Cup and they come back and they say you know the biggest thrill I had was not winning the NCA Championship or Stanley Cup was winning the Minnesota State High School Championship you know so when you hear that uh you realize that it's a big thing no question about it the story still permeates and now you look at all this stuff here it's it's here and and he's done such a great job and he's it's going to be a loss to the community to lose a pillar like that these little kids know the name AA and they know the Fedora and it's just going to be carried on and with the Statue of him at Brar Arena and the goal for all of us is to live the simple humble disciplin life of Willard and La AA it was a struggle sometimes you know but uh the competition was so great I always felt that I had the best high school hockey job in the state of Minnesota by the time he retired as an Idina High School coach in 1991 coach Ike earned 616 career victories eight state championships and was named Minnesota's High School hockey coach of the year six times