The core of these two high school teams are players that come from each association’s peewee A teams.  In three seasons from 2009-2012, the two associations' peewee A teams played each other 6 times.  Prior Lake won posting a 4-1-1 record against the Lightning.  Last night, the Lakers won again beating one of last year’s Class AA State Tourney teams handing the Lightning their third loss of the season.  The Laker’s win over Eastview comes after a loss to Lakeville North on Saturday 2-0.  The Lakers needed a win to keep pressure on other teams in Section 2AA.  Eastview needed to win in a close four team chase for the top seed in Section 3AA.  For the Lakers to win, they needed to beat a tough Eastview defense led by goalie Zach Driscoll.

Pre-game

Driscoll was a high performance select goalie last summer and in the fall played in the Upper Midwest High School Elite League.  He led an elite league all-star team, the Minnesota White, to a 2-1 win over a team from Northwood Prep School from New York in the CCM International Invitational Tourney Championship game last November.  The CCM II Tourney ends the elite league season.  Driscoll stopped 34 of Northwood’s 35 shots on goal in that championship game.

Prior Lake used an offense that featured a deep two man fore check while keeping a third forward high in the slot to control the puck in the Lightning's zone.  The offense effectively trapped the Eastview defense behind the Lightning’s net often tying up two and sometimes three of the Lightning’s players.  It created a Prior Lake player advantage on the Lightning breakout passes; it slowed the Lightning’s breakouts; and it created large open ice areas on either side of the Eastview net.  Play in the Eastview zone often resulted in the puck being turned back into the Eastview zone at the Lightning’s blue line.  As the game wore on, the Laker offense was forcing the Lightning defense to carry the puck higher in the zone to start a breakout.

The Lakers’ offensive tactics resulted in point blank shots on Eastview’s junior goalie, Zach Driscoll.  It maximized pressure on Driscoll and it worked.  They scored five goals.  Driscoll had been giving up two goals a game.  The Eastview defense had more problems when a Laker forward checking behind Driscoll beat the defense and gained possession. If the Laker forward went right, the Lightning forward on the right side had three bad choices, cover the pass to the point, drop low and take the puck carrier, or attempt to cover the Laker in the slot.  It opened upper the lower crease areas right and left of Driscoll.

Prior Lake’s offensive tactics generated 36 shots on the Lightning’s goal.  Offensively, Eastview had a great second period going after struggling through a tough first period.  The Lightning had tied the game 2-2 until the Lakers’ Kevin Fellows (a ninth grader and YHH top 50 pick in 2012) beat Driscoll to put the Prior Lake up 3-2.  After that score, the Lightning offense struggled again until the halfway through the third period.

Period One

The most significant play of the opening period was a Laker forward crashing hard into Driscoll.  To the Prior Lake fans, it appeared to be a score; but the shot on goal came after Driscoll was taken down.  A minute later Eastview drew the first penalty of the game.  Halfway through the penalty, Prior Lakes’ Kevin Fellows scored beating the defense low on the power play.  The Lakers led 1-0.  Connor Clemons and Curt Hansen got the assists.

The two teams traded rushes over the next few minutes of play with Prior Lake gradually gaining control of the play and getting shots on net.  With five minutes remaining in the opening period, Eastview’s Nick Hodgen managed to split the Lakers’ defensive pair at the Prior Lake center blue line.  Hodgen broke right to his strong side and fired on the Lakers’ goalie Nick Vidmar.  Vidmar stopped the shot, but the puck rebounded to Hodgen who scored.  The game was tied 1-1.  Tommy Hutsell and Cole McDevitt got the assists.

The Lightning couldn’t celebrate long, the Lakers’ Tyler Bump beat the Lightning defense along the right boards and fired a hard shot from the face off circle.  The puck caromed off Driscoll’s catcher into the upper left corner net.  Prior Lake led 2-1; Tyler Grobel and Derek Daugaard got the assists.  The period ended with the Lakers outshooting the Lightning 10-6.

Period Two

Three penalties (one on Eastview and two on Prior Lake) were called in the opening 90 seconds of the second period.  It created a 4-3 situation and Eastview scored.  Set up in the Lakers’ zone, Jake McGlocklin turned a pass from the blue line into a hard shot that beat Driscoll.  It was a neatly executed play with Eastview moving the puck until they could find McGlocklin alone in the left slot.  McGlocklin one timed the set-up pass beating Driscoll.  Pierce Erickson and Keith Muehlbauer got the assists.  The game was tied 2-2.

That goal fired up the Lightning and they started to move the puck and maintain possession in the Lakers’ zone.  But halfway through the period, Prior Lake’s Kevin Fellows beat the Eastview defense along the left boards, broke right across the slot, and beat Driscoll with a hard shot to the upper left corner to put the Lakers up 3-2.  Curt Hansen got his second assist of the game.

The Lightning defense sagged, just a little, and it opened up the Prior Lake forwards attack.  The Lakers forwards were starting to beat the Lightning defense in the neutral zone creating 3-on-2 and 2-on-1 rushes.  The Lightning forwards were to playing high in the Lakers’ zone, sometimes sending only a single forward to fore check off the end boards.  

With a minute left in the second period, the Laker’s Derek Daugaard put in a rebounding puck.  The play was started with the Lakers winning a faceoff.  Tyler Bump got his second assist. Daugaard’s goal was the game winner, putting Prior Lake up 4-2.

Period Three

Eastview had to kill most of a two minute penalty to open the third period and they did.  But not a lot of pressure was generated by either team in the first seven minutes of play.  With seven minutes left to go in the game, Eastview’s Tommy Hutsell made a great individual effort to turn things around for the Lightning.  Driscoll started the play with a pass to defenseman Keith Muehlbauer.  Muehlbauer hit Hutsell with the puck along the left boards in neutral ice.  He held his edges under leaning pressure from a six foot plus Lightning defenseman, and managed to get a hard shot on Vidmar.  The puck rebounded to Hutsell and he scored on his second shot.  During the whole sequence, Hutsell was bodied by a Laker defender.  Keith Muehlbauer and goalie Driscoll got the assist.  Prior Lake led 4-3 with seven minutes to go.  But before the Lightning could get rolling again, Prior Lake scored.

A minute after Hutsell’s goal, Prior Lake’s Austin Polson-McCannon scored the insurance goal to end the scoring 5-3.  Jack Murphy and Will Reedy got the assists.  The Lightning never got going again.  

Section 2AA

There are seven teams in Section 2AA this year and four have proven tough (Edina, Burnsville, Prior Lake, and Jefferson).  The other three teams (Shakopee, Holy Angels, and Chanhassen) are struggling.  The Lakers need to move up to assure the #3 or possibly the #2 seed.

Burnsville and Edina are battling for the #1 seed.  Prior Lake and Jefferson are battling to avoid the #4 seed.  A #4 seed means playing either Burnsville or Edina two days after playing a tough game against Holy Angels, the team most likely to get the #5 seed and then have to play #1 seed who will have a bye and be rested.

In last season’s playoffs, #5 Holy Angels took #4 Jefferson into the third period trailing by a goal, before losing 7-4.  The Jags played Edina two days later and were leading 4-3 late in the third period only to lose 5-4 on a last minute goal.  Edina had beaten Shakopee two days earlier.  This year the #3 seed will likely play Chanhassen or Shakopee and, if they win, two days later play a team (Burnsville or Edina) that will not be rested.

It should be noted that there appears to be a change on where the Section 2AA (and 6AA) semifinals are played.  For the past few seasons, Section 2AA has been played at Edina’s Braemar Arena and Section 6AA at Parade in Minneapolis.  This year they will be split with one of each section’s semifinals played at Braemar and one played at Jefferson’s Bloomington Ice Gardens.  Each arena will host two semifinal games, Saturday, February 22.  In a bit of irony, that could mean Wayzata plays an Eden Prairie at Braemar while Edina could be playing Jefferson at BIG.  The Trojans can’t escape the Hornet’s green and the Jefferson Blue is not the Hornets favorite color.

Section 3AA

Eastview was the top rated team in Section 3AA last night before losing to the Lakers.  That loss has narrowed their lead over Cretin-Derham Hall, St. Thomas Academy, and Eagan.  Eastview and Cretin are probably in a virtual tie for the #1 seed.  Fortunately, the Lightning beat Eagan 2-1 Saturday on outdoor ice at Twin City Bank Stadium and they remain 4-0 in games against Section 3AA opponents.

The Lightning have five 3AA sectional games remaining (Hastings, Woodbury, Apple Valley, Rosemount, and Eagan) and can run the table to go 9-0 against 3AA  foes.  The trouble Eastview has is that they face four tough non-Section 3AA teams, all top rated (Lakeville North, Burnsville, Jefferson, and Prior Lake again).  Losses to these teams could drop the Lightning in the Section 3AA seedings.

With ten Section 3AA teams this year and four teams of equal strength, but stronger than the other six team, what does a seed #1 or a seed #4 mean? Eastview will find that out this Thursday when they play Hastings at Hastings.  Hastings or Rosemount is the likely #5 seed in Section 3AA this year.  Eastview has a tough road ahead and could end up as low as #5 in the Section 3AA seeds.

The Players 

Twenty one months ago, Prior Lake’s peewee A team won the state title beating Hermantown 9-4 after narrowly beating Osseo/Maple Grove 5-4 in overtime and Elk River 2-1.  This game was battle between two high school teams that are starting to be populated with players (ninth or tenth graders) from their association’s peewee A teams.  Prior Lake had five players from their 2010-2011 peewee A team that posted a 43-8-5 record and was ranked #5 in the state at the end of the year, Connor Clemons, Curtis Hansen, Kevin Fellows, Matt Denman, and Noah Beer; Eastview had four players, Andrew Tuthill, Cole Anders, Connor Bateman, and Nick Hodgen from a team that went 15-24-3.  The two peewee teams played each other once that year, Prior Lake won 4-2.

Prior Lake also picked up a tenth grader from Shattuck-St. Mary’s U16 team last year, Tyler Bump.  Bump scored 28 points (11 goals) for the Sabres in 50 games last year and played for the Jefferson peewees.  The Lakers lost Scott Reedy to Shattuck’s Bantam team.  Reedy leads the Sabre’s AAA team in scoring with 70 points (32 goals) in 36 games.  Reedy also played for the Prior Lake Association’s peewee A teams in 2011.

What’s Next?

Eastview has the big one when they travel to Hastings to play the Raiders Thursday.  Hastings fans turn out to support their teams in the big arena and they are partisan fans.  Suburban hockey fans can get loud, but towns like Hastings can roar.  It will be Eastview’s first regular season game at Hastings since early in 2011 and one they have to win or they may find themselves playing their first sectional game there in a month.

Prior Lake travels to Apple Valley on Saturday for a South Suburban Conference game.  Tuesday, the Lakers have their must win game, playing Jefferson at BIG.  That game will go a long way is deciding seeds in Section 2AA.  After the Jefferson game, the Lakers have one more Section 2AA foe on their schedule, Burnsville at home.  That makes the Jefferson game a must win.  In February, the Lakers face five tough opponents before Sectional playoffs (Eagan, Burnsville, Lakeville North, Eastview, and Minnetonka.  It does not get easier for the Lakers.