Farmington at Lakeville North
7:30 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 17

Will No. 1-2A Lakeville North (14-0-0) go undefeated this winter?

Perhaps, but it won’t be easy for the Panthers. And it might be possible they don’t even get out of the Section 1 playoffs, not if No. 15-2A Farmington (12-3-0) has anything to say about it.

The Tigers gave section rival Lakeville North arguably its toughest game of the year, taking the Panthers to overtime before losing 6-5 on Nov. 25. Lakeville North won the game on a goal from Jack Poehling (13-16-29), who is tied with brother Nick Poehling (13-13-26) as team's leading goal-scorer. The Poehling brothers, including sophomore Ryan Poehling (9-11-20), have led the way for the Panthers much of the season. Nick has three hat tricks - against Hill-Murray, Edina and Farmington - and is a true “big game” scorer.

Farmington is on a seven-game winning streak and now buoyed by the return of Justin Novak (1-4-5), who missed the first 11 games of the season because of an injury. He gives the Tigers a deep scoring lineup that has been anchored by John Siebenaler (10-21-31), Austin Martinsen (18-12-30) and Grady Hauswirth (10-14-24). It’s a true strength versus strength game.