Unpredictably, thy name is The Battle of Lakeville.
Guessing the outcome of the two-plus annual matchups between Lakeville South and Lakeville North is a fool’s errand, given the pressure-cooker intensity of this intracity rivalry and equal dispersion of talent in most years. But guessing is part of the fun, which helps set the table for our Top Game of the Week.
Cougars or Panthers? We’ll let the big cats decide it on the ice, but we can say that handicapping these teams is especially confounding this season. Their overall records are mostly even: Lakeville South is 10-6-0, Lakeville North is 10-5-1. Their South Suburban Conference records are mostly even, too: Lakeville South is 6-3-0, Lakeville North is 6-3-1.
How about signature wins? Lakeville North beat Prior Lake 3-2 on Dec. 28 and Rosemount, ranked No. 3 in the Class 2A coaches' poll from Jan. 15, 2-1 on Jan. 9. Lakeville South, meanwhile, knocked off Rosemount 5-2 on Dec. 14. Confounding losses? Lakeville North lost 5-2 to Duluth East on Dec. 21, the same Duluth East team Lakeville South beat 8-0 on Dec. 31. Lakeville South lost 4-3 to Eastview on Saturday after beating the Lightning 4-1 on Dec. 5.
Transcendent players? Neither team has anything resembling the iconic Poehling brothers from Lakeville North’s unbeaten campaign in 2014-15, or the incomparable Justin Kloos from Lakeville South’s 2011-12 squad that engineered a stunning 3-2 upset of heavily favored Duluth East in the Class 2A state tourney quarterfinals. Not yet, anyway.
The head-to-head advantage goes to Lakeville North by virtue of its 4-1 triumph over Lakeville South on Dec. 12, a game in which Panthers goaltender Caleb Mayer was brilliant in stopping 31 of 32 shots. The state’s coaches seem to like Lakeville South better, however, ranking the Cougars No. 9 in Class 2A.
Lakeville South’s top scorers are senior Zach Oelrich (8 goals, 15 assists) and junior Cade Ahrenholz (10-8-18). Lakeville North counters with seniors Caden Smith (9-8-17) and A.J. Anello (10-4-14).
There’s a strong chance this won’t be the last meeting between these squads. The Lakeville schools have played for the Class 2A, Section 1 title seven times in the last 10 years.