Eagan, Prior Lake, Lakeville North and Rosemount remain in the hunt for the South Suburban Conference title, with each having no more than one loss in league play. They all have one game against one of the other contenders on the schedule, except for Lakeville North. The Panthers face Rosemount on Tuesday and league-leading Eagan on May 24 in the regular-season finale, adding significant weight to both the matchup with the Irish in our Top Game of the Week and to the home stretch of their schedule.
The Panthers, ranked eighth in the coaches’ poll released May 7, have lost only to top-tier competition this season, falling to No. 6 Wayzata 12-6 on April 23, No. 1 Chanhassen 11-6 on April 28, and No. 2 Prior Lake 7-6 on May 10. If Lakeville North can maintain its perfect record against teams outside the top-10 rankings, including a victory over Rosemount, it should be able to stay in the race for the conference title.
Senior Jordan Knuth scored three goals and dished four assists for Lakeville North (5-3, 4-1) in a 17-9 win over Lakeville South on May 3. He scored twice in last year’s 8-7 loss to Rosemount and will be relied upon to keep the Panthers' offense humming in this season's matchup.
Rosemount fell to Eagan 16-4 on May 3, but hopes to stay on the Wildcats' tail in the standings by sweeping its remaining four league games, a stretch the begins with Lakeville North and ends with Prior Lake.
Thomas Purfeerst tallied two goals and two assists to lead the Irish to the victory over the Panthers a season ago, while Cameron Loberg won all 13 faceoffs he took. Rosemount (7-1, 4-1) needs stellar performances from both to repeat last year’s results and keep its own conference championship hopes alive.