“Just trying to establish pucks at the net,” Rosemount coach Ricky Saintey said of his team’s strategy Thursday. “Big goalie, get him moving laterally and getting pucks in traffic. That first one was a nice shot from Owen with traffic in front of the net. It definitely sparks you, gets you going. We just need to respond better in situations like that. After giving up a goal it felt like we let them dictate, which is a little frustrating.”

Lakeville South didn’t stay down long. Sophomore forward Eli Miller found the back of the net with 11:20 left in the first period.

Rosemount (3-1-1) had the only power play of the game early in the opening period. The Irish brought shots on goal back to a deadlock at seven apiece but couldn’t retake the lead before the Zamboni came out to resurface the ice between periods.

The ice still had its shine when junior defenseman Mason Johnson got on the scoreboard. He was one of 13 Cougars to notch at least one point on the night, his coming on a goal just 53 seconds into the middle period. 

Lakeville South seems to boast the depth needed to compete with the state’s best, which makes what Cam Boche is doing all the more impressive.

The senior forward is tied for third in the state among both classes with 10 goals. His first of two tallies against the Irish provided some brief separation.

“We didn’t have any pretty goals tonight,” Boche said. “They were all getting the pucks to the net and going hard to the next shots. On my goal it was a great shot by Jack Malinski and I was just there for the tip and got lucky on that.”

The ice began to tilt Lakeville South’s way nearing the second intermission — until the Irish’s own goals leader stepped up.

Junior defenseman Carson Liebaert took a pass from Caden Hegarty near the blue line and knocked it in through traffic. He’s tied on the team with Wisconsin-bound senior forward Luke Levandowski with four goals this season.

“He’s been an unbelievable leader for us,” Saintey said of Liebaert. “Our leadership has been good, so that’s a positive thing. Especially for a D man playing, he shoots it really well and I think he caught the goalie off guard there shooting the puck on the rush.”

Senior goalie Zach Dosan wouldn’t be caught off guard again. Lakeville South managed a 19-8 shots-on-goal advantage in the second period. For the game, the Cougars had a 36-17 shots advantage.

The Cougars controlled the puck and paid it off when sophomore forward Zander Billins deposited it in the net with 6:14 left to retake a two-goal lead.

Boche added his second score on an empty net with just over a minute remaining.

“We knew they were going to be a strong team,” Boche said. “They’re fast, they’re physical. We just had to keep playing our game, keep getting pucks to the net and play physical ourselves. Especially use our speed; I think that’s our team’s best quality.”

Rosemount believes it’s far from a finished product. The Irish will get a rematch with the Cougars on Feb. 27 in Lakeville. Rosemount’s only semblance of a blemish prior to Thursday was a 2-2 tie with No. 8-2A Prior Lake.

“We just want to try some new things. It’s still early in the year. It’s one of those things you want to learn,” Saintey said. “A team like Lakeville South, who plays a structured system like they do, they’re going to compete. They’re going to battle and they’re going to give you their effort. So we thought we’d try to structurally adapt a few things, try a few new things so we can learn different styles of play coming down the stretch.”