Stillwater junior forward TJ Sagissor recorded four goals and an assist in the Ponies' 6-5 upset of Lakeville North on Tuesday night at Lakeville's Ames Arena, proving a lower-back injury he suffered last year won’t hinder his performance this year.

The unfortunate injury limited him to just 10 games, which resulted in no goals or assists and only one shot on goal to go with 15 penalty minutes.

Even with Sagissor's limited minutes and lack of points, his coach had a sense he could score. But Matt Doman didn’t expect it would be in an offensive explosion.

“For him to be able to come out and, let alone score one, score four in his first night, it’s great confidence for him. It's great confidence for our team. Obviously if you see one of your teammates score four goals, everybody’s jacked up about that,” Doman said.

Sagissor said he was a little nervous before taking the ice.

“I had a lot of energy coming into this game," he added. "It was my first big game at the varsity level.”

It didn't show when he notched the game's initial goal.

A crushing blow by three Lakeville North defenders on junior forward Noah Cates left the puck loose in the slot. Sagissor retrieved it and fired a shot past Panthers senior goalie Matthew Foss. 

Lakeville North answered with goals from senior forward Taylor Schneider and junior forward Reed Smith to take 2-1 lead heading into the first intermission.

Dorman said he was unsure about his team’s mental toughness.  

“I knew we competed hard. But you come into a building like this and you go down a couple goals, how are you going to respond?” Dorman said.

His team allowed a goal to junior forward Ryan Poehling before reacting the way he hoped.

Junior forward Luke Manning snapped the Panthers' scoring streak with a goal, and Sagissor's second score not only tied the game with 12:44 left in the second period but chased Foss from between the pipes after giving up three goals on five shots.

Sagissor said there was a positive mentality heading into the locker room after the period.  

“We were saying, ‘We got this. Don't let up here. We’re going to get a few,'" he added. "We just had all of the energy."   

Lakeville North tallied the first goal of the third period, but Stillwater rattled off three straight goals to sway momentum.

Manning knotted the game 4-4, and Sagissor’s third goal gave the Ponies the lead midway through the final period. A minute later, he notched his fourth, which stood up as the game-winner.

Panthers junior defender Keaton Pehrson scored with 6:15 left to play to trim the deficit to one, but Lakeville North wouldn't find the back of the net again.

Manning said Sagissor’s hard work paid off.  

“It was great for the kid. He deserves it. He’s a great worker and he definitely deserves those four goals,” Manning said.  

Lakeville North outshot Stillwater 33-12, and given the paltry number of pucks the Ponies put on net, it make come as a shock to some people that Sagissor was able to sculpt the type of performance he had Tuesday night.

Doman, however, wasn't, and he said an ability to crash the net was a key factor in his team’s scoring.  

“I don’t know if any of them were soft goals...we preach about going to the net, getting pucks there, being available,” Doman said.       

Considering Sagissor - a player who was coming off a lower-body injury that limited his playing time las season - converted four of his team's 12 shots, it's not far fetched to believe this Stillwater team could return to the Class 2A state tournament for the first time since making its initial appearance just two seasons ago.

Junior TJ Sagissor finished with four goals and an assist to push Stillwater past Lakeville North 6-5 Tuesday night at Lakeville's Ames Arena.

The game's first score came off the stick of Sagissor with junior forwards Noah Cates and Luke Manning assisting.

The Panthers, ranked No. 2 in the Class 2A coaches' poll, pulled even when senior forward Taylor Schneider scored at the 4:16 mark of the first period.

Junior forward Reed Smith gave Lakeville North its first lead with 1:09 left in the first.

Junior forward Ryan Poehling, who assisted on the Panthers' first-period goals, scored at the 13:36 mark of the second period to extend the lead to 3-1. Junior forward Henry Enebak recorded the assist on the goal.

Manning responded 28 seconds later, scoring off an assist from senior Jackson Cates, and less than 30 seconds after that, the Ponies evened the game as junior forward Matthew Stanton set up Sagissor for his second goal of the night.

Lakeville North senior goalie Matthew Foss was pulled after giving up three scores on five shots. His replacement, junior Buzz Eigner, finished with four saves.

The teams combined for five goals in the third period, but Stillwater secured the victory behind two scores from Sagissor, including the eventual game-winner, and one from Manning.

Senior forward Max Johnson and junior defender Keaton Pehrson recorded the Panthers’ goals.  

Ponies senior goalie Josh Benson turned away 28 shots.    

Stillwater (1-0) attempts to continue its early season success when it travels to Roseville on Thursday, while Lakeville North (0-1) looks to bounce back when it heads to Shakopee on Saturday.  

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