Just minutes into the second period of the Class 2A, Section 2 semifinal game between Burnsville and Prior Lake, Blaze goalie Dyllan Lubbesmeyer saw his squad’s two-goal lead turn into a one-goal deficit. 

Hats were flying in front of Lubbesmeyer, who let in three goals from Lakers senior forward Tyler Bump during the first 3 minutes of the frame. 

Rather than let the hat trick punch him in the gut, Lubbesmeyer became a stalwart for Burnsville and helped catapult the third-seeded Blaze to a 5-4 overtime win at Bloomington Ice Garden on Saturday.

“You get a little nervous,” Lubbesmeyer said of the feeling in his gut following the hat trick. “You just have to know there’s a lot of time left in the game, so you have the chance to bounce back.”

Bounce back is what Lubbesmeyer and Burnsville did. The senior ended the day with 18 saves, giving the Blaze the opportunity to not only get into overtime but come out of the extra frame with a victory. 

Second-seeded Prior Lake had all the momentum towards the end of the third period, where it led Burnsville 4-3. 

The Blaze pulled Lubbesmeyer with about a minute left, and just a few seconds later, Jacob Thomas found the back of the Lakers’ net to force overtime. Thomas’ goal added to his stat line as he finished with two assists and the overtime-forcing goal. 

“(Thomas is) a competitor, he works hard, he always finds himself a spot on the ice,” Burnsville coach Janne Kivihalme. “He works hard and is a valuable part of our team.”

Burnsville capitalized on a deflated Prior Lake squad midway through the extra period. Senior defenseman Carter Dupre took a high-percentage shot halfway past the blue line, and when the puck found twine, Burnsville had earned the right to advance to section championship. The Blaze face top-seeded Edina for the section title at Mariucci Arena on Feb. 25.

The celebration for the Blaze started immediately after leaving the ice, and the entire team could be heard belting out “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” from The Proclaimers in its locker room. 

“At the beginning of the year, we were working out and that song came on. We were all kind of hyped about it and we were feeling good,” Dupre said in front of his locker room while wearing a child’s toy crown that signified he earned the Most Valuable Player honor for his team. “So the last game, after we won, coach put that song on and we just started singing. So now, it’s kind of a tradition at this point.”  

The emotion put out by the Burnsville squad following its win could be heard throughout Bloomington Ice Garden, but one could see what this victory meant by looking at the face of at least one of the Blaze skaters. 

“...The fact we were able to come back and win -- I was literally crying tears of joy, so it felt really good, and it will be good to get back to Mariucci,” Lubbesmeyer said.

Carter Dupre scored the game-winning goal midway through overtime as third-seeded Burnsville defeated second-seeded Prior Lake 5-4 in a Class 2A, Section 2 semifinal game Saturday at the Bloomington Ice Garden. 

The Blaze held the Lakers to just three shots in the first period, helping Burnsville enter the second period with a 2-0 lead all the momentum.

It took 3 minutes at the start of the second period for Prior Lake to turn the tables as senior forward Tyler Bump scored three consecutive goals to give the Lakers a 3-2 lead. 

Burnsville wouldn't go away, though. 

Blaze defenseman Jack Ahcan evened the score less than 2 minutes after Bump completed the hat trick, and the score remained tied until Prior Lake's Connor Clemons took a pass from Bump and put the puck in the net with under 3 minutes to play in the second period.

With the teams playing to a draw in the final period, Burnsville pulled goalie Dyllan Lubbesmeyer and took advantage of the extra skater as Jake Thomas snuck one into the Prior Lake net to even the score 4-4 with 49 seconds to left in the game. 

Burnsville regained momentum and didn't lose it overtime as the Blaze moved the puck at will. With 3 minutes left in the extra frame, Dupre took a slapper from Brendan Larsen and sneaked the puck past Lakers goalie Benny Smith to complete the 5-4 victory. 

Burnsville faces top-seeded Edina in the section final at 6:30 p.m on Wednesday, Feb. 25 at Mariucci Arena.

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