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Skippers tighten hatches

By Loren Nelson, MN Lax Hub Editor, 05/10/12, 9:34AM CDT

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No. 5 Minnetonka limits scoring chances in upset win over No. 3 Eden Prairie


Minnetonka senior defenseman Jon Dryke, left, goes to work on Eden Prairie's Brooks Armitage. Photo by Helen Nelson

Jon Dryke is one big dude.
 
He stands well over 6-feet and is as thick as an oak. 
 
The big guy has some speed and agility, too. With Dryke playing defense, opposing players might just as easily climb a mountain rather than maneuver past Minnetonka’s human aircraft carrier.
 
Throw in Dryke’s full crop of facial hair (Grizzly Adams would be impressed) and the intimidation factor is off the charts.
 
Or so you would think.
 
“It’s hard to take him serious,” Minnetonka senior midfielder Matthew Boyce said about going one-on-one against Dryke in practice. “His mustache is so funny that it’s hard not to start laughing.”
 
Boyce scored three goals in the No. 5-ranked Skippers’ 8-3 triumph over No. 3 Eden Prairie on Thursday, May 10, but Dryke’s contribution to the victory, although less obvious, was equally as important.

Minnetonka defenseman Jon Dryke, left, sends Eden Prairie's Jake Adkins sprawling to the turf. Photo by Helen Nelson

In an amazing display of ball control and patience, the Eagles spent all but a few minutes of the first quarter in the Minnetonka defensive zone – one Eden Prairie possession lasted well over 6 minutes – but were able to unload just a handful of shots, none of which were on goal.
 
“I almost considered that a victory for us,” Minnetonka coach Aaron Olivier said. “It actually forced them to take a timeout to adjust to our defense, which I’ve never seen before. 
 
“We got pretty fired up after that, and I felt like momentum was actually on our side when we stood our ground to start the game like that.”
 
The Eagles mustered just one goal through three quarters and had some of their best scoring chances, limited as they were, in the closing minutes when the game was out of reach.
 
Dryke, who has committed to play at Minnesota-Duluth next season, repeatedly rebuffed the Eagles in their forays toward the goal.
 
“He’s just a beast,” Olivier said about Dryke. “I don’t know if there is a better case for a first team all-state defenseman than Jon Dryke leading a defense like he has, absolutely transforming it through the course of the year.”
 
The Skippers’ defense struggled mightily early in the season, allowing 16 goals in a loss to Eastivew and giving up 12 in a victory over Rosemount. To be fair, Minnetonka still was adjusting to season-ending injuries to starting defensemen Rob Dryke, Jon’s twin brother, and Michael Willan, another senior.
 
“He worked really hard all offseason to play and he was going to start this year,” Jon Dryke said about his brother, who fractured two bones in his foot. “I want him to play so bad, but there’s no chance.”
 
Olivier plugged in Nick Ecklund, a senior who played sparingly last season, and Gabe Anderson, a sophomore transfer who spent last season on defending state champion Benilde-St. Margaret’s prep team, into starting roles.
 
After the rocky start defensively, Minnetonka has allowed more than six goals just once in its last eight games as Ecklund and Anderson have settled into their new roles. 
 
“They are good,” Dryke said about his defensive partners. “They learned the game quick. It was rough in the beginning, but they’ve got it down now.
 
“I’m feeling confident in them.”

Minnetonka's Chase Leinberger fires a shot on goal while taking a shove from Eden Prairie's Daniel Thayer. Photo by Helen Nelson

Statistics, Summary

Game Recap

Seniors Matthew Boyce and Jack Denton each scored three goals, and Minnetonka’s defense held Eden Prairie to 11 shots on goal in the No. 5-ranked Skippers’ 8-3 Lake Conference victory over the No. 3 Eagles on Thursday, May 10, at Eden Prairie High School.

Minnetonka’s victory avenged a 12-6 loss to Eden Prairie on May 23. Both the Skippers (8-2) and Eagles (10-2) have been ranked as high as No. 2 in the state.

Boyce scored the only goal of the first quarter, and it was especially deflating for Eden Prairie as the Eagles controlled the ball in the Minnetonka end for all but a few minutes of the opening period.

The Skippers led 4-0 at halftime and 6-1 heading into the fourth quarter. Denton scored two of his goals in the final period. 

Brooks Armitage scored twice for Eden Prairie, which was playing its third game in as many days. 

Eagles goaltender Anthony Perkins stopped five of 13 shots. Minnetonka’s Nick Larson made eight saves.


Minnetonka's Matthew Boyce

A senior midfielder, Boyce had an abundance of energy the Eagles had trouble containing. Boyce scored the only goal of the first quarter and, counting his two assists, had a hand in five of the first six Skippers’ goals as they surged to a 6-1 lead.
 
The hulking, fully bearded Dryke is an imposing fellow when just standing still. Get the big guy moving, however, and he is a Panzer looking to flatten opposing Hot Wheels. Dryke was a big reason – literally – why Eden Prairie struggled to find openings in the Skippers’ defense and was unable to consistently generate shots on goal.
 
The junior goaltender wasn’t tested often, but a handful of his saves eight graded high on a difficulty scale, especially in the second half when the Eden Prairie offense seemed to be catching its stride.

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