Tuesday night was Ryan Poehling’s time to shine.

The sophomore forward scored three goals to cap a Lakeville North comeback as the Panthers defeated Benilde-St. Margaret’s 4-2 in the Sports Authority Holiday Hockey Classic at the St. Louis Park Rec Center.

The hat trick was the fourth completed by the Poehling brothers this season, with big brother Nick recording the other three in just 10 games for Lakeville North (10-0-0), ranked No. 1 in the Class 2A coaches poll.

“The goal scoring just moves from Poehling to Poehling to Poehling,” Lakeville North coach Trent Eigner said. “It was just Ryan’s night tonight.”

Nick and Jack Poehling each earned two assists on Ryan’s goals, and the brothers accounted for seven points against the No. 16-2A Red Knights (4-5-2).

The trio now have 28 goals and 32 assists on the year.  

Despite the attention paid to the Poehlings - the brothers play on the same starting line and all have committed to play at St. Cloud State, Eigner said he is not sick of talking about his players.

“They play a fun style of hockey,” Eigner said. “It never gets old coaching those kids and it never gets old watching them play. I always tell people, their work ethic is their best attribute so I don’t ever have a problem with people asking because they’re worthy of the praise.”

The Panthers found themselves in a foreign position early in the game as Benilde-St. Margaret’s took a 2-0 lead into the first intermission after goals from senior captain Ben Newhouse and sophomore Nick Sims. 

Lakeville North had never trailed in a game this year, and the Panthers had to reassess and get back to playing their game, Eigner said.

They did, and it showed as Lakeville North returned in the second period determined to finish checks and put pucks to the net. And Poehling brothers led the way. 

“We had a conversation as coaches after the first period,” Eigner said. “We thought it was going to be a good thing (being down). Regardless of the outcome, we thought it would be a good thing. I wasn’t worried about our guys, though. I knew they’d keep working.”

Ryan netted his first goal early in the second period. He scored on a wraparound, slipping the puck under the left pad of Benilde-St. Margaret’s goalie Jalen Long to cut the Panthers’ deficit to one goal heading into the third.

“Everyone in the locker room had a feeling we would come out with a win,” Jack Poehling said.

Jack Sadek, a senior defenseman for Lakeville North who was all smiles after the game, was almost at a loss for words to describe the victory. The word “great” made its way out of his mouth four times within 15 seconds before he could regain his composure.

Once he did, he also said he knew his Panthers would come out with a win.

“I knew we were going to win the whole time,” Sadek said, still smiling. “They got a couple lucky ones in the first.”

Confidence, obviously not lacking in the Panthers locker room, manifested itself into goals on the ice. 

Ryan tied the game just 2:15 into the final period and completed the hat trick 11 minutes later, catching a gorgeous pass from Jack in the slot before firing the puck into a wide-open net. Ryan then got on one knee and jumped into the boards. 

“Jack beat the (defense) wide, and I just made a shot,” Ryan said. “I guess it made it into the back of the net and gave us the lead.”

Ryan talked humbly about his style of play. He said he does his best to finish checks and make the little plays while his brothers are usually doing the scoring. 

Eigner isn’t sick of hearing about the hardworking Poehlings, and neither is Jack. 

The senior said he couldn’t help but appreciate how lucky he is to have success with his brothers.

“It doesn’t get old,” Jack said. “It’s fun. We don’t take it for granted.”

 


Ryan Poehling scores his third goal of the night. December 30th, 2014. Photo by Brian W Nelson - click photo for full size

First Report

Ryan Poehling recorded a hat trick, helping Lakeville North remain undefeated as the Panthers rallied for a 4-2 victory over Benilde-St. Margaret’s in the Sports Authority Holiday Hockey Classic at the St. Louis Park Rec Center on Tuesday night.

Poehling’s third goal was the game-winner as the sophomore scored off a beautiful backdoor pass from his brother, Jack, with just 3:37 left in the game.

Max Johnson added an insurance goal 20 seconds later for Lakeville North (10-0-0), ranked No. 1 in the Class 2A coaches poll.

A very aggressive Panthers team couldn’t manage to stay out of the box, picking up four penalties in the first period.

The No. 16-2A Red Knights (4-5-2) took advantage and dashed off to a 1-0 lead on senior Ben Newhouse’s power-play goal as the puck bounced off the glove of Panthers goalie Ryan Edquist and into the back of the net less than 5 minutes into the opening period. 

Sophomore Nick Sims scored at the 11:47 mark of the first to give Benilde-St. Margaret’s a 2-0 lead. Carter Roo’s one-handed, last-ditch effort pass found Sims in the low slot, and the sophomore fired it past Edquist’s glove. 

Lakeville North cut the lead in half on Ryan Poehling’s wraparound power-play goal. Both of Ryan’s brothers earned assists on the goal. The Poehling trio was in full force during the second period, accounting for not only the lone goal but also a majority of the shots. 

Ryan added two more goals in the third period, including the game-winner. 

The Poehling trio ended the night with seven total points.

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