Mischievous young fans, lacking the funds or patience to wait in line to buy tickets for big games, have been known to seek entry into the Rosemount Ice Arena through, uh, “alternative” entrances.
Expect all those back and side doors, fire exits, windows, air ducts and any other means of entry to be bolted shut for the Saturday showdown between Rosemount, ranked No. 3 in the Class 2A coaches' poll from Dec. 5, and Lakeville South. This is one of those games.
What’s the big deal?
Both teams are among the dwindling number of state unbeatens entering the week. Both are the favorites to reach the state Class 2A tournament from their respective sections (Lakeville South through Class 2A, Section 1; Rosemount through Class 2A, Section 3). Both teams showcase several future Division I — and maybe beyond — players (Lakeville South’s Griffin and Tanner Ludtke are headed to Nebraska Omaha; Rosemount’s Luke Levandowski is committed to Wisconsin and Jake Ratzlaff to Minnesota).
In its 25th year, the Rosemount Ice Arena has a capacity of about 1,200. Not enough, most likely, to satisfy the rabid interest in both teams’ communities.
The point to all of this: arrive early to our Top Game of the Week.
Lakeville South (3-0-0, 2-0-0) has shut out two of its three opponents, and junior Cody Ticen was required to make just a combined 21 saves in the victories (6-0 over Chanhassen on Nov. 27 and 8-0 over Shakopee on Dec. 7).
Ticen will be tested by a Rosemount (5-0-0, 2-0-0) lineup loaded with gifted scorers, most notably Levandowski, a junior who ranks among the state’s goal-scoring leaders with eight.