Lakeville North girls take conference title, aim for next hockey goal

The Lakeville North girls' hockey team completed the first stage of the trifecta. It's on to level two.

The Panthers won the South Suburban Conference title for the third consecutive year and have advanced to the Class 2A state tournament in each of the previous two seasons. They won the conference crown outright this year and in 2011-12, and shared the title with Eagan in 2012-13.

"I'm extremely proud of the girls who have been here four or five years," Panthers coach Buck Kochevar said. "They have competed very hard, and understand what it takes to get the job done."

The Class 2A, No. 9 Panthers enter Section 1 play with an overall record of 18-5-2. They won the South Suburban with a 13-1-2 mark.

"We've had to overcome a little adversity this year, and the players have done that," Kochevar said.

A year ago, the Panthers had their highest finish (third) in the state tournament. They lost in the semifinals to eventual state champion Minnetonka 4-3 in a dramatic six-overtime game before bouncing back to beat Eden Prairie 3-2 in the third-place game.

The previous year, they also fell to eventual state champion Minnetonka 2-1 in overtime in the semifinals. Edina then shut out Lakeville North 1-0 in the third-place matchup.

The Panthers have four players, all seniors, with more than 30 points. They are forwards Maddie McGlade (15 goals-21 assists—36 points), Alexis Joyce (21-13—34) and Heidi Winiecki (13-20—33) and defenseman Dani Sadek (6-25-31). The forwards used to form the top line but have since been broken up.

"We have been getting more scoring since splitting them up," Kochevar said. "We have two balanced lines now. It was easier for teams to match up against us when we had all our eggs in one basket."

Junior Abby Cooper has been solid in goal with 10 shutouts. The Panthers are only allowing 0.9 goals per game.

"This group has done a good job playing as a team," Kochevar said.

Zach Smith, a senior guard on the Burnsville boys' basketball team, scored his 1,000th career point in an 82-72 loss to Eastview in a South Suburban Conference matchup.

• Sophomore guard Sean Ryan helped the Eastview boys' basketball team get out of a tailspin. Ryan scored a career-best 33 points in a 10-point victory over Burnsville. It was his first game in double figures this season.

• Dyllan Lubbesmeyer's fifth shutout of the season was his most impressive. The junior goaltender stopped all 30 shots he faced as Burnsville blanked Eagan 1-0 in a South Suburban Conference boys' hockey game. He recorded his sixth shutout in the next game, 8-0 over Apple Valley.