Apple Valley Boys Hockey Soars Past Lakeville North

The Apple Valley Eagles boys hockey team faced off against the Lakeville North Panthers at the Apple Valley Sports Arena on Thursday, coming out ahead 4-3. The Panthers' third-period surge was no match for the Eagles' dominance in the first two periods.

The game started with a quick goal by Lakeville North senior forward Gordon Kappers just under four minutes into the game. The Eagles then answered back in the first period with three goals. They followed suit in the second period scoring another goal, junior forward A.J. Michaelson’s second, putting the Eagles ahead 4-1.

The Panthers did not answer in the second, but a different Panthers team took the ice in the third period. The Panthers scored two goals within the first seven minutes of the third. Each shot was clutches from a tie, but the play of Aaron Gretz held off the Panthers.

The lack of offense by the Eagles was partial tribute to the Panthers' comeback. The Eagles had 2 shots on goal in the third period (compared to 12 in the first and 14 in the second).

“I feel like we came out well in the first period, obviously second period I thought we played well,” said Apple Valley head coach Jerry Hayes. “Obviously we didn’t finish what we started. We let them back into it a little bit and made it a lot closer than we would have liked to.”

Between the first and third periods, Gretz shut down the Panthers offense for nearly 33 minutes. The senior goalie didn't fret about the third period goals, but was happy to walk away with a win.

“It was a good, hard-fought game. We could have came out better in the third period but we got the win and that’s all that matters,” Gretz said. “We gotta start playing a bit better once we get closer to playoff.”

Apple Valley hosts Eagan at 2:15 p.m. Saturday. Look for this South Suburban matchup to be heated as the 9-3-1 Eagan squad leads the 9-4 Eagles by one point in the conference standings.