Lakeville North at Farmington
7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 25

Panthers coach Trent Eigner has openly talked about upgrading his program into an annual contender for the state Class 2A title, not just the Section 1 crown, since he started at Lakeville North four years ago.

He succeeded last winter, getting the Panthers all the way to the state final before succumbing to Edina.

Many of the same players return with an eye on closing the deal, including the Poehling brothers --  senior twins Nick and Jack and sophomore Ryan -- who make up the team's top line, as well as defensemen Jack Sadek and Jack McNeely, who are both Division I prospects.

So what did Eigner do? He scheduled his team’s toughest competition in Section 1 — a surging Farmington program -- to open the season.

The Tigers shocked many by winning 23 games last year and bring back seven of their top nine scorers, including seniors Justin Novak and Austin Martinsen and junior John Siebenaler, who combined for 60 goals and 141 points a year ago.

Martinsen scored twice in the Tigers’ season opener last Thursday, a 5-1 victory at Rochester John Marshall.