PWAA: Lakers upset the Eagles
The Lakers' Bennett Soderberg moves the puck in 6-3 win
The hockey season is almost 100% under way. Girls High School teams opened play last week. The Boys High School teams are in tryouts this week. Next Thursday, the Boys play their first games. At the association level, most district play began a week ago. The first YHH Girls High School Top 10 ranking will be out in two weeks. NOW Youth Hockey rankings are up on this site. Updated Tier 3 rankings will be out next week. Last night, it was the peewee AA teams playing hard at the Dakota Ice Rink in Prior Lake. Going into last night’s peewee AA game, Apple Valley association’s peewee AA team was ranked #6 in the state; defending State Peewee AA champs, Prior Lake, was ranked #18. In a fairly evenly played game, Prior Lake behind balanced scoring (eight players scored or got an assist) broke open a 1-1 tie late in the second period to win the game. The Lakers scored three times to take a 4-1 lead and went on to win 6-3 over a tough Apple Valley team.
Prior Lake's Ryan Hadland (#13) scores this third period goal to put the Lakers up 5-2.
Apply Valley plays in District 8. District 8 regular season play begins November 15th this year. The Eagles will play a 16 game schedule and based on NOW rankings in the early season, the #6 Apple Valley team will be battling #5 ranked Hastings for the D8 crown. Prior Lake plays in District 6 and has played their first D6 game (losing to NOW #2 ranked Osseo/Maple Grove 6-2). The Lakers have a tough D6 schedule playing 18 games against a number of highly ranked teams (#1 Edina, #2 OMG, #3 Eden Prairie, #7 Chaska/Chanhassen, #9 Wayzata, #11 Minnetonka, and #12 St. Louis Park).
Period 1: Defense Rules the Roost
Apple Valley controlled the play in the opening minutes of the first period, moving the puck low into the Lakers’ zone and attacking the net. The Lakers’ defensive corps kept the Eagle forwards wide and tied up the middle eventually forcing the puck into the neutral zone. In the neutral zone, the Laker forwards moved the puck through neutral and forced the play low. The Eagle defense would control the puck behind their net, but could not beat the Prior Lake fore checking in the high slot. Neither team got off good shots. Halfway through the period, the Lakers drew two minor penalties, one after the other, and skated shorthanded for four minutes of the last six in the opening period. On the first Valley power play, the Eagles set up in the Lakers’ zone and moved the puck well. It was a good power play with several shots on the net and it kept the Lakers’ defense on the ice without a change for most of the power play.
Prior Lake’s penalty killers did their job on the second power play, clearing the puck and keeping the Eagles offense trapped in the Apple Valley zone. The period ended with no score. Prior Lake outshot the Eagles 7-6.
Typical of first period play were the battles for the puck along the end boards. This one is between Valley's Nolan Christy (#2) and Prior Lake's Will Schumacher (#15).
Period 2: Offense Takes Over
After a scoreless first period, both teams offense started to roll. A minute into the period, the Lakers got the Eagle defense scrambling and kept moving the puck wide and low until the Laker’s Sam Rice took a low shot from the left boards that rebounded free in the right side crease to Prior Lake’s Alex Bump. Bump rapped the puck in the net to Prior Lake up 1-0. Rice got the assist.
Apple Valley struck two minutes later. The Eagles Jared Wright made a nice play picking a puck off the end boards behind the Laker net and one-timing a pass to Ben Kasner in the slot. Kasner, not to be undone by Wright’s quick pass, one-timed the puck into the net beating the Laker’s goalie Trevor Boschee. Wright got the assist. The goal tied the game just under 9 minutes left in the second period 1-1
Thirty seconds after tying the game, the Eagles drew a high sticking penalty. On the power play, the Lakers established control in Valley’s zone and moved the puck well setting up a number of quick shots on goal forcing the Eagle’s goaltender, Mathew Syverson, to make some good stops. With 24 seconds left in the power play, Prior Lake’s Ryan Hadland finally scored unassisted to get the power play goal. Prior Lake led 2-1. Forty seconds later, the Lakers scored again. Blake Dicke scored for Prior Lake. The Lakers took the center faceoff after scoring the second goal and rushed the net. Riley Dueber and Ben Monson got the assists. Prior Lake led 3-1. The Eagles never quite recovered from two Prior Lake goals scored in one minute of play. For the next five minutes, Prior Lake tended to dominate the play until the Lakers drew a cross checking penalty with just under two minutes left in the period.
The Eagles' Jared Wright (left) scores in last seconds of the second period (the puck is billowing in the net).
In a rarity in hockey, both Prior Lake and Apple Valley scored on the following power play. The Eagles set up in the Laker zone and were moving the puck around the perimeter controlling the game for the first minute of their power play. Prior Lake cleared their zone and the Eagles’ defense picked up the loose puck behind the Eagles’ net. But an off-speed pass from the defense in the faceoff circle was picked off by Lakers’ Bennett Soderberg. Soderberg beat the defense for a solo rush. His first and second shots were stopped by Syverson. The third rebounded shot went in. Soderberg scored an unassisted shorthanded goal. Prior Lake led 4-1. Thirty seconds later, the Eagles Jack Novak came up with the puck behind the Laker goal and fed Wright breaking in the high slot. Wright scored the power play goal with Jack Novak getting the assist. At the end of the second period, Prior Lake led 4-2. The Lakers outshot the Eagles 20-14 in the first two periods.
Period 3: The Lakers Tether the Eagles
It was an up and down, race horse, game for the first five minutes of the third period. Both teams were clearing their zone, but Prior Lake’s forwards fore check was forcing the action more and more into the Eagles’ zone low. Five minutes into the third period, Prior Lake’s Dalton Spratt fore checked the puck loose low in the left faceoff and put a quick shot on the Eagle net. The puck on the Apple Valley goalie’s Syverson pads and came loose in the crease. The Lakers’ Hadland picked up the loose puck, swung to the goalie’s right side and beat Syverson low right to put Prior Lake up 5-2. With six minutes to play in the game, Matt Beaty scored unassisted to put the Lakers up 6-2. Late in the, the Eagles had a 5-on-3 opportunity to tighten the game, but couldn’t score. The Eagles did get a score in the last minute of play to end the scoring. Prior Lake won 6-3.
Both teams played a solid game of hockey. Apple Valley's defense had a soft spot in the second period, but came back to play strong. Prior Lake's defense controlled the Eagle forwards in most of the second half of the game. Both teams will be trouble for other teams in their respective districts.
Apple Valley celebrates last second period 2 goal to cut Prior Lake lead to 4-2.
What is Next?
The NOW ranked #6 Eagles have lost three in a row after winning their first six games. Apple Valley will play two more District 6 teams (Minnetonka AA and Edina AA) before opening District 8 regular season play with two games (against last season’s D8 champions, Rosemount and against Woodbury) the following weekend. The Eagles will play in the Burnsville Thanksgiving Tourney in two weeks. The Eagles will open pool game will be against Rosemount.
Prior Lake lost to Osseo/Maple Grove 6-2 in their District 6 opening game. The Lakers have five District 6 games to play (starting with Friday’s game against NOW ranked #3 Eden Prairie) before Thanksgiving. They play the Eden Prairie twice in those five games and then play in Eden Prairie’s “First Test of the Best” Thanksgiving Tourney. The Lakers (4-3-1) are in the West Pool with Duluth East, Blaine, and St. Cloud. Prior Lake plays Duluth East in their first pool game Black Friday.
Prior Lake's Ryan Hadland (left) watches this third period shot heading for the back of the net (the puck is the blur about to cross the goal midway between the pipes.