As if Caleb Mayer’s performance on Friday night wasn’t enough, the Lakeville North goaltending resume received another polish in Saturday night’s 2-2 tie with Minnetonka. 

Junior Will Johnson made an incredible 43 saves against the Skippers, ranked No. 4 in the latest Class 2A state coaches’ poll, one night after the sophomore Mayer took No. 3 Moorhead to the brink with 40 saves in a 4-2 loss. 

“It was a little nerve-wracking with the crowd and everything, but after the second period I got into it,” Johnson said with a grin after the game. 

Just wait until Johnson’s butterflies stop fluttering. 

Without another display of late-game magic by Minnetonka (1-0-1) junior defenseman Josh Luedtke, Johnson would have picked up his first varsity win in his first varsity game. 

Luedtke, who scored the Skippers’ game-winner on Friday night against St. Thomas Academy, scored with seven seconds remaining in regulation to tie the game to its eventual final score of 2-2. 

Johnson said that he did not dwell on the moment and that he moved on quickly because of the looming extra session. 

“I just told myself (to) stay in the game, you’ve got OT to go through and you can’t let up any more goals,” Johnson said.

Johnson stayed true to his inner words, and the youthful Panthers earned a very respectable draw. 

“I think we rostered twelve guys in both games that had never played a varsity shift,” Lakeville North head coach Trent Eigner said, illustrating just how young these Panthers (0-1-1) are.

While facing a pair of top-five teams isn’t the most comfortable route to enter the season, Eigner said that tough games are a better barometer for how his team can play. 

“We could’ve started out with two very weak teams and we wouldn’t know much about our hockey team,” Eigner said.

“To see twelve guys play their first varsity shift, there’s no hiding in these games (because) you’re playing good hockey teams with high-end players,” Eigner continued.

“You can’t hide.”