Lakeville North beat Lakeville South Thursday night at Hasse Arena 4-1. The Panthers were lead by junior forwards Ryan Poehling and Reed Smith who each had a goal and an assist. Poehling the St. Cloud State commit provided puck control and energy for his team all night. 

The Panthers got on the board first when Blake Brandt's wide angle feed hit traffic in front and found the five hole of South goalie Isaiah Dilaura to give North a 1-0 lead. Despite shots being even on the scoreboard, the goal scoring chances were all North in the first.

South tied the score in the second when William Moore found a loose puck and a wide open - he buried it. For a short while the home crowd had some hope. But minutes later, Poehling answered. A puck popped loose out of the control of DiLaura and the junior power forward beat line-mate Henry Enebak to the loose change and tapped it in for the lead. 

Late in the second, Lakeville South was called for a five minute major. During the power play, North tried everything to put the game away. Dilaura made some big saves. In one exchange, the Panther first power play unit held the zone for nearly three minutes without a clear...or a goal. Very exciting for everyone except Dilaura. Eventually with under a minute to go in the period, the Dilaura levy broke. Max McGlade got a loose puck in front and he lofted it over the shoulder of the big sophomore to give North a 3-1 lead at the break. 

North would add an insurance goal in the third by Reed Smith, a pretty shot from the high slot that was a perfectly timed death blow for the Panthers. The Cougars showed very few signs of life in the third despite a five minute major power play of their own late in the game.

Up Next: North will travel to Duluth Saturday to play Duluth East in the Hockey Day Minnesota game in a rematch of last year's state title game. South will travel to Apple Valley Saturday and then to Duluth Tuesday to also face the Hounds.

Thoughts from the glass: North was simply the better team Thursday. More skill, more hustle and more focus. With the win, Farmington will likely get the first seed over the Panthers, meaning North could face South again in the section semifinals in two weeks. At the end of the day, Farmington, North and South will need to play a game or two - we like North as the top team after tonight.