Max Meekin’s memory failed him immediately after his Eagan Wildcats handed Prior Lake a 5-1 loss at the Eagan Civic Center on Tuesday night. 

Meekin, a junior defenseman, could not remember if he had ever scored a hat-trick. 

“I’ve never scored a hat-trick,” Meekin said after the win. “Well, maybe in like, peewees,” Meekin allowed with a grin. 

Meekin’s three goals helped power the Wildcats (1-0, 1-0) to a South Suburban Conference win over the Lakers, a win partly sparked by the play of the Wildcats’ top line, says Meekin. 

“They set the tempo for our team, especially on that first shift,” Meekin said of Eagan’s forward combination of Nick Sherek, Jonny Meiers, and Keegan Johnson. “They went down (into the Prior Lake zone) and were grinding right away.”

The initial pressure led to a pair of goals from Meekin and Sherek less than two minutes apart late in the first period, despite a mediocre number of shots by the Wildcats. 

Even after his team scored three more times in the second frame, Eagan coach Mike Taylor said that he encouraged his team to take more shots in the third. 

“We had great chances, but we were looking for that pretty play,” Taylor explained. “I just said we needed more of a shooter’s mentality in the third.”

In addition to Meekin’s three tallies, Sherek scored twice for the Wildcats. Keegan Johnson registered three assists in the win. Matt Beaty scored the lone goal of the loss for the Lakers. 

With a commanding 5-1 lead, the game began swaying on a penalty-pendulum, with the Lakers (0-1, 0-1) taking eight minutes worth of transgressions in less than a five-minute span of the third period.

An already-disgruntled Prior Lake fan section was further incensed when a puck sent out of play struck an onlooker, bounced back onto the ice, and the Wildcats seemingly scored the sixth goal on the ensuing possession. 

The goal was eventually waived off after consultation between officials, and the game finished without further extreme incident, as both teams avoided any more penalties. 

Meekin attributed the Wildcats’ ability to temper their emotions during a game against a conference rival to their familiarity with each other. 

“We only lost three seniors from last year, so we have a lot of chemistry,” Meekin said. “We’d been ready for a long time for this game.”