With three of the state's top-five Class 2A teams in one building over Thanksgiving weekend, the prospect of there being clutch goals and acrobatic saves was a safe bet. 

The talent on the ice delivered. 

Josh Luedtke of Minnetonka scored the game-winner in the first game against St. Thomas Academy, dropping into the offensive zone and ripping a wrist shot past Cadet goaltender Muzzy Donohue. Luedtke followed that performance by tying the Skippers' second game with just seven seconds remaining in regulation, salvaging a 2-2 draw with an inspired Lakeville North squad. 

The Panthers saw the type of goaltending usually reserved for do-or-die postseason play, not the first two games of the season. Sophomore Caleb Mayer made 40 saves in a heartbreaking 4-2 loss to Moorhead on Friday night, and junior Will Johnson followed that with 43 saves of his own in the finale against Minnetonka. 

Mayer and Johnson were both seeing their first varsity action, adding brighter shine to their performances.