Wednesday’s matchup between Lakeville South and Chanhassen a game between two highly-ranked Class 2A squads. It’s a type of game the cougars have played on a regular basis over the past few years. That hasn’t been the case for the Storm, as the school just recently cracked the Class 2A coaches’ poll top 10 rankings for the first time in program history.

Though Chanhassen may be seen as the new kid on the block in the class rankings, the Storm certainly haven’t been playing like it. Chanhassen picked up its ninth consecutive win on Wednesday, downing highly-touted Lakeville South 3-0 at the Premier Holiday Classic in the Park at St. Louis Park Rec Center.

The Storm came in with some hype as they returned nearly their entire team from a season ago that won 19 games. However, the first game did not quite live up to the hype as Chanhassen lost to Andover 6-3 on Nov. 25.

Since then, the Storm, ranked No. 5 in the latest Class 2A coaches’ poll, have done nothing but win—and they’ve done it against tough foes such as No. 2-2A Minnetonka and other teams like rivals Chaska and Shakopee.

“The first game kind of set the bar,” Chanhassen junior Caden Lee said. “We knew what we had to work on and where we had to go from there.”

Wednesday’s game against No. 6-2A Lakeville South was yet another tough test for Chanhassen. The Cougars entered the game with just one loss and are coming off their fifth state tournament appearance in the last six seasons.

In the early minutes of the game, Lakeville South looked like a team ready to take down Chanhassen as the Cougars came out flying and produced some goal-worthy chances.

“We knew they would come hard at us,” Chanhassen coach Sean Bloomfield said. “We just had to tell our guys that they were going to be in the d-zone and not panic. We knew we’d be able to work through it.”

The Storm, backed by junior goaltender Kam Hendrickson, weathered the Cougars’ early attack and eventually tilted the ice in their favor. After coming close to their first goal on a power play, Chanhassen broke through when Lee shoved a loose puck into the net from the goal line to make it 1-0.

“My type of play is getting to the net,” Lee said. “I want to get those dirty goals.”

In the second period, the Storm took things up a notch with an offensive barrage of shots on net. After firing 13 shots on goal in the first period, Chanhassen had 19 in the second and scored their second of the game to make it 2-0. The goal came off the stick of Jack Christ, as the junior forward skated around a few Lakeville South defenders and beat Cougar goaltender Jack Hochsprung.

Bloomfield liked the way the Storm played in the middle period.

“In the second period, we were really strong on the forecheck,” Bloomfield said. “We have been working on the first guy being hard on pucks. The shots got a little inflated at the end. But the second period was the type of game we wanted to play.”

Besides getting shots on net, the Storm also managed to hold down Lakeville South’s potent offense, which came in averaging four goals per game. The strong defense in the win included the Chanhassen penalty kill that was a perfect 4-for-4.

“We knew what they were going to bring in regards to the power play,” Bloomfield said. “It was about making sure our kill was aggressive at the right times and being in the right lanes.”

Besides the penalty kill, Hendrickson also made key stops throughout the game at even strength. He finished the game with 27 saves. It was the first time in 365 days that Lakeville South (5-2, 3-0) had been shutout when they lost 3-0 to Maple Grove on Dec. 28, 2021. 

Bloomfield applauded the focus his goalie exuded to earn him his fourth shutout of the season.

“(Hendrickson) was able to really track pucks well going through the zone tonight,” Bloomfield said. “He was really dialed in.”

In the third period, Lee tallied a goal on the power play—his second goal of the game—to make it 3-0. After Lee’s goal extended the lead, the frustration levels for Lakeville South increased and a parade to the penalty box began with after-the-whistle kerfuffles. It’s something the new-kid Storm (9-1, 2-0) are starting to see more and more of.

“The last couple games were really physical and gritty,” Lee said. “We just have clamp down as a team and be ready.”

With each impressive win, the spotlight around Chanhassen continues to grow. But Bloomfield and his players understand that the hype only goes so far.

“We’ve had some big wins early in the season,” Bloomfield said. “But we keep preaching that this is not the state championship. That’s down the road.”

In a battle of high-powered offenses, Chanhassen netted three goals on 50 shots and shut out Lakeville South to win 3-0 on Wednesday at St. Louis Park Rec Center in the Premier Holiday Classic in the Park.

The Storm, ranked No. 5 in the latest Class 2A coaches’ poll, absorbed an early punch from No. 6-2A Lakeville South as the Cougars produced a number of good chances, firing 15 shots on goal in the first period. 

However, Lakeville South (5-2, 3-0) could not crack Chanhassen’s junior goaltender Kam Hendrickson during that barrage in the first period or the rest of the game as he earned a 27-save shutout. 

The Storm (9-1, 2-0) got things going in the first period when junior Caden Lee shoved in a shot from the goal line to make it 1-0. The offense continued in the second period when junior forward Jack Christ scored his ninth goal of the season to make it 2-0. Lee tallied his second point of the night in the third period, giving his team a 3-0 lead with a power-play goal.

Chanhassen’s offense pounded Lakeville South goaltender Jack Hochsprung all game while he stopped 47 shots in a losing effort.

The MN Hockey Hub poll is for entertainment purposes only.