Ryan Poehling made sure to carry on his family's tradition against Duluth East.

The junior forward was key in helping Lakeville North pick up another victory over Duluth East, finishing with a goal and two assists to lead the Panthers to a 3-2 victory over the Greyhounds on Saturday at Duluth's Bayfront Festival Park in an outdoor game as part of Hockey Day Minnesota. 

The game was a rematch of last year's Class 2A state championship in which Ryan, and his older twin brothers Jack and Nick, combined to score three goals in a 4-1 victory. Jack and Nick graduated last year and are now with the Green Bay Gamblers of the United State Hockey League.

Despite the show the Poehlings have put on recently against Duluth East, Greyhounds coach Mike Randolph is glad Ryan remained with Lakeville North rather than pursue opportunities to play at a different level. 

Randolph, who is widely known for his stance against players leaving high school early, said he has great respect for the Poehlings because they realized the importance of competing for their varsity team. 

“I would never wish he leaves high school hockey,” Randolph said.

While Randolph is likely tired of seeing a Poehling score against Duluth East, he marvels at Ryan's performances. 

“I love to see great players,” Randolph said. “You get caught watching players like that. He is a great player and a great team player.”

Lakeville North needed a great player to make a great play to escape the slump it was in to start Saturday's game. 

The Panthers offensive was sluggish as the players adjusted to the outdoor ice rink, failing to register a shot on net until almost 11 minutes had passed.

And to make matters worse, the Greyhounds' Ryan Peterson scored early in the first period to put a struggling Panthers team behind 1-0.

“It was really tough right away,” Lakeville North defenseman Keaton Pehrson said. “The puck was bouncing a lot because of the ice.”

The Panthers trailed for most of the first and needed to get to the first intermission before things got worse.

Enter Lakeville North leading point scorer Ryan Poehling, who wasn’t ready to head to the locker room with his team staring at a deficit.

With 15 seconds remaining, Poehling stole the puck and scored - all on the same swipe of his stick - to tie the game. It was his 17 of the season. 

“It sent a message to our team that we aren’t going to quit,” Lakeville North coach Trent Eigner said. “It was a complete lunch-pale goal, and it send a spark to the team, for sure.”

Panthers goaltender Buzz Eigner said that play epitomized what Poehling means to the team. 

“He just moves the puck and keeps the game going,” Buzz Eigner said. “If anything bad happens, he gets us out of it.”

Poehling’s goal gave Lakeville North momentum it carried into the second, where he assisted on goals from Max Johnson and Henry Enebak to help push the lead to 3-1, enough for a victory. 

Poehling, how now has a team-high 30 assists and increased his season point total to 47, said participating in Hockey Day Minnesota further supported his decision to stay at Lakeville North this season.

The USHL's Lincoln Stars selected Poehling with the first pick of the draft this past summer, and he could have played there this year. But, similar to his brothers, Poehling passed up the opportunity to play junior hockey to pursue another state championship.

Poehling hopes the decision to stay pays off just like his brothers’ decision did, but even if it doesn’t, he’s happy he stayed. 

“It was worth everything,” Poehling said. “You can’t get another opportunity like (Hockey Day Minnesota), ever, and high school hockey gives you a lot of opportunities that are the best times of your life. I am grateful for that.”

First Report

Ryan Poehling had a goal and two assists to lead Lakeville North to a 3-2 victory over Duluth East on Saturday in a game played at Duluth's Bayfront Festival Park as part of Hockey Day Minnesota. 

With the victory, the Panthers (16-5-1) ended an eight-game win streak for the Greyhounds, who were making their third appearance in the annual daylong celebration of hockey throughout the state. 

Ryan Peterson scored two goals, with Luke Dow recording assists on both, for Duluth East (14-8), ranked No. 14 in the Class 2A coaches' poll. 

Greyhounds goaltender Kirk Meierhoff didn’t have to make a save until almost 11 minutes into the game as the No. 8-2A Panthers struggled to muster shots through most of the first period.

That was not the case for Duluth East, as Peterson scored just over three minutes into the game and the Greyhounds kept the puck in the Panthers' zone for most of the period. 

Poehling helped ease the pain of Lakeville North's forgettable start, scoring a shorthanded goal with 15 seconds remaining to play in the first. 

The Panthers took the momentum into the second period, where Max Johnson and Henry Enebak scored to give Lakeville North a 3-1 lead heading into the intermission.

Peterson tallied his second goal early in third, pulling Duluth East to within one. The Greyhounds, however, couldn't score the equalizer, sending the Panthers home with a Hockey Day Minnesota victory. 

Meierhoff made 28 saves for Duluth East, while Lakeville North's Buzz Eigner stopped 27 shots.


Duluth East's Ryan Peterson tallied both of the goals for the Hounds in their 3-2 loss. (Photo By Matthew Moses)


Lakeville North's Ryan Poehling had three points (1 goal, 2 assists) in the Panthers' 3-2 win over Duluth East on Saturday. Photo By Matthew Moses

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