Quantcast
skip navigation

Class 2A, Section 1 final: Lakeville South defeats crosstown rival Lakeville North

By Mark Hvidsten, SportsEngine, 03/02/23, 10:15PM CST

Share

The Cougars scored four goals en route to another Class 2A state tournament appearance.


Lakeville South captains, from left, Ashton Dahms, Aidan Willis, John Novak and Tyler Lafferty sprint to celebrate with fans after collecting the Class 2A Section 1 championship plaque. Photo by Mark Hvidsten, SportsEngine

Lakeville South carried the No. 1 seed into Thursday night's Class 2A, Section 1 boys hockey championship game at the Rochester Rec Center against an opponent the Cougars had beaten twice this season and hadn't lost to in three seasons. It would have been easy for the Cougars to take a relaxed approach to the game.

But Lakeville South put on the pressure from the opening faceoff and kept it going at full strength to secure a 4-1 victory over Lakeville North and earn a fifth consecutive section championship and Class 2A state tournament berth. Lakeville North now has been the victim in four of those five section final victories for the Cougars, who take a 21-6-1 record into next week's state tournament at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

"We wanted to come out and set the tempo," said Josh Storm, who has coached the Cougars the past two seasons. "We are the more skilled team, and we wanted to use that skill to our advantage."

Senior forward Ashton Dahms, who had a goal and an assist in the victory, said the goal was to put a lot of pressure on Lakeville North goaltender Carter Mayfield, a sophomore who won the varsity job late in the season. And that's just what Lakeville South did.

It took a little while and a few solid scoring chances for the Cougars' pressure to pay off. Aidan Willis appeared to score just under five minutes into the game but the goal was wiped away because the net had come loose. Lakeville North skated off a penalty. Dahms hit a goal post with one of his shots. Will Kortan was called for offsides when Lakeville South goalie Jack Hochsprung made a fantastic down-ice pass from his net that left Kortan with a rush opportunity.

Finally, on the Cougars' 11th shot on goal, Tate Pritchard got a puck past Mayfield for a 1-0 lead that South never relinquished.

Kortan got his goal 10 minutes into the second period as Lakeville South continued its assault on the Lakeville North goal. After two periods, the Cougars had outshot the Panthers 28-15. 

The Panthers, who finished the season at 13-15, got back into the game when Tyler Arneson scored a power-play goal at 15:51.

Dahms was in the penalty box after being called for tripping, setting up the Panthers' opportunity. But he made up for it, scoring just seconds after being released from the penalty, giving Lakeville South a 3-1 lead and stealing back any momentum the Panthers had just won.

Lakeville South held on in the third period despite a frantic rush by the fourth-seeded Panthers. Lakeville North outshot Lakeville South 17-5 and forced the Cougars into four penalties in the third period.

That final frenzied period didn't end without a cost to the Cougars. Pritchard suffered a severe cut to a hand late in the period and was rushed off the ice and out of the arena for treatment.



Lakeville North defenders Gavin Griffin (left) and Wyatt Brunello (11) put the squeeze on Lakeville South forward Jackson Ernst (14) in the third period. Photo by Mark Hvidsten, SportsEngine

Hockey Hub Headlines

  • Five reasons Edina became a state champion

  • By DAVID LA VAQUE, Star Tribune 03/11/2024, 9:30am CDT
  • The 14th state championship for Edina/Edina East featured, of course, a hot goalie, but it also came with a list of intangible reasons for success.
  • Read More

Feed for https://www.startribune.com/sports/index.rss2