Take away the middle of the ice and protect the area between the dots.

It became a clear point of emphasis for Farmington’s defensive-minded effort Thursday night at Ames Arena in Lakeville, as the Tigers and sophomore goalie Gavin Enright worked to silence host Lakeville North 1-0.

Enright and Farmington survived 35 shots, three power plays and half a dozen flurries of intense pressure to come out with a victory that caps a series sweep of their South Suburban Conference rival while providing a significant boost in the Tigers' favor for the Class 1A, Section 1 tournament seeding process.

“They’ve got a seriously high-powered offense over there,” Farmington coach Greg May said of Lakeville North. “We know what they bring, so anything that we can do to disrupt it is important. Whether it’s getting a stick on the puck or blocking shots, whatever it takes to keep them on the outside…that’s what we worked to do.

“With the amount of talent they have, they are going to get their chances,” he added. “But we felt we had to eliminate the ‘Grade A's’.”

The Panthers, ranked No. 7 in the Class 2A coaches’ poll, entered Thursday night’s game averaging nearly six goals per game and was better than 38 percent effective with its power play.

But Farmington’s effort to lock down the slot dared Lakeville North to shoot from the perimeter more than it would like. The more the game wore on, and the more time that passed without anything to show for their steady shot production, the more it frustrated the Panthers.

“We know from history what they like to do in the slot, so we were committed to stick a man on that and limit their chances,” Farmington senior defenseman Erik Holmstrom said. “It was a collective effort to clog the middle of the ice.”

After the Panthers clearly held the upper hand in the opening period, the Tigers saw their confidence grow in the second as Lakeville North struggled to break through despite putting up 24 shots before the start of the third.

In the final period, the Panthers struggled to sustain a flow of real scoring chances, while the Tigers shed the restraints of their earlier offensive shortcomings and began to create some of their own.

Seven minutes into the third, Farmington ended the drought when Holmstrom fired a shot on net from the blue line in front of the Panthers’ bench. The puck found its way through traffic and past Lakeville North goalie Buzz Eigner into the back of the net. It proved to be the decisive wedge in this chapter of an ever-growing rivalry at the metro's southern fringe.

“The big thing is, we know now that we can beat them,” May said of Lakeville North. “We’ve done it. Twice. That is going to be our attitude moving forward. Is it going to be easy? Absolutely not. And if we see them again, they will be out for blood. But the biggest thing now is the belief going into the playoffs, as opposed to what we’ve had in the past.”

Team defense has been an emphasis for Farmington (10-6-1), which five days ago fell to Burnsville 2-1, then recorded a 2-1 home loss to Class 2A’s top-ranked Benilde-St. Margaret’s on Tuesday. Thus, Thursday’s victory over the defending Class 2A state champions was well received.

“We’ve been pushing all season to win in situations like this,” Enright said. “The other night against Benilde, we came close, and tonight we came out on the right end of it. To be able to pull through as a team will do a lot for our confidence. It shows us as a team what we can do and what we are capable of. This week shows that we can compete with anyone.”

As the Tigers clung to their defensive tactics and weathered a storm of shots from the freewheeling Panthers, Enright’s play between the pipes may have proved to be the difference.

“He’s been our rock,” May said of Enright. “He’s a student of the game, and the first-guy-on-the-ice, last-guy-off type person that works incredibly hard for us. It’s nice to see him rewarded (with the shutout).”


Farmington upended rival Lakeville Thursday night for a 1-0 win. Farmington has now won both match-ups this season against last season's state champs. Photo by Korey McDermott

First Report

Farmington senior defenseman Erik Holmstrom's shot from the point found the back of the net with 9:59 remaining, a goal that proved to be the decisive wedge Thursday night as the Tigers upset defending Class 2A state champion Lakeville North on its home ice 1-0.

The victory is an important one for the Tigers in terms of gaining ground in the South Suburban Conference, and more importantly, the Class 2A, Section 1 tournament seeding process.

It also marks a season sweep over the Panthers, who fell at Farmington 5-3 on Dec. 10. 

Farmington goalie Gavin Enright finished with the shutout, stopping all 35 shots he faced. Lakeville North goalie Buzz Eigner stopped 20 shots.

The Tigers improve their overall record to 10-6-1 while the Panthers falls to 11-5-1.

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