Lakeville North goalie Abby Cooper has successfully brought a key component of her golf game to the ice. 

While goaltending employs different physical tools than golfing, the two sports require a similar intellectual fortitude.

“Golf is a huge mental sport and goaltending is mostly mental,” Cooper said. “They definitely go hand in hand. Being mentally strong in hockey helps with golf, and being mentally strong with golf helps with hockey.”

Cooper displayed her mental strength in Lakeville North’s regular-season finale against crosstown rival Lakeville South at Hasse Arena on Saturday, withstanding a barrage of Cougars’ shots to finish with 26 saves to record her 10th shutout of the season with the Panthers’ 3-0 victory. 

Cooper never flinched while facing an offensive attack that averages almost five goals per game. The senior calmly and confidently cleared multiple shots as Lakeville South (20-4-1), ranked No. 6 in the Class 2A coaches poll, applied early pressure on the Lakeville North net.

Cooper credits her poise to the trust she has in the defenders who play in front of her. 

“I have a lot of confidence in my defense,” Cooper said. “I know my defense will do everything right. They don’t make a lot of mistakes.”

While Cooper has faith in the defenders in front of her, the defenders have even more faith in their goaltender. 

“It offers a lot of confidence,” junior defender Katarina Seper said. “Obviously she is one of the best goalies in the state, and it is so nice to know when a shot comes and I don’t get there or our defense doesn’t get there, she’s going to make the save every time.”

The second period may have tested Cooper the most. Penalties on Lynne Freese and Taylor Flaherty put the Cougars in power-play situations, but Cooper did everything from sprawl out to defending odd-man rushes to perfection. She finished the period with 11 saves. 

“She is so steady and she has all the mechanics and she makes the hard things look easy,” Lakeville North coach Buck Kochevar said.

Cooper’s play has made things easy for the No. 9-2A Panthers (20-4-1) all season.

She is 19-4-1 with a 0.93 goals against average and a .956 save percentage.

It’s no surprise Cooper’s had success this season. She is coming off a junior year in which she was 23-5-2 with 11 shutouts, a 0.86 goals against average and a .946 save percentage. Cooper was a key contributor in Lakeville North’s 5-1 victory over Eden Prairie in the third-place game at last year’s Class 2A state tournament.

But her success in state competitions is not limited to the ice rink. Cooper finished with a two-day total of 191 and helped Lakeville North place fourth at the Class 3A state golf tournament last year.

Despite performing in two of the state’s biggest tournaments, Cooper was nervous entering the matchup with Lakeville South, Kochevar said. 

Cooper, however, said she didn’t let her nerves control her play because of the confidence she knew her coaches had in her on such a big stage. 

“They told me I had to really believe in myself and stay really confident and knowing that all of the effort that I’ve put in on the ice and practice will pay off, and it did,” Cooper said.

Already one of 10 semifinalists for the Senior Goalie of the Year award, Cooper may have helped her chances of winning the title with her shutout of Lakeville South.

And if it is up to her coach, Cooper deserves the honor.

“You build your team from the goalie out and we are lucky to have probably the best goalie in the state,” Kochevar said. 

Lakeville North senior goaltender Abby Cooper stifled the Lakeville South offensive attack as the Panthers shut out the Cougars 3-0 in a South Suburban Conference matchup at Hasse Arena in Lakeville on Saturday. 

Cooper finished the game with 26 saves, helping Lakeville North (20-4-1, 15-2-1), ranked No. 9 in the Class 2A coaches poll, extend its winning streak to 12 games with the upset of No. 6-2A Lakeville South (20-4-1, 17-1-0).

Officials dealt with plenty of extracurriculars from the rivals throughout the game as the crosstown distaste was evident.

Sophomore defender Kate Winiecki opened the scoring for the Panthers when she scored from the point less than 2 minutes into the game.

Lakeville North held the one-goal lead for the rest of the first period and into the second. 

The Panthers increased their lead to 2-0 as freshmen forward Jayden Neameyer buried the puck in the Lakeville South net with 12:39 left in the third period.

Junior forward Megan Lebens added a goal with 6:40 to play, all but ending Lakeville South’s hopes of a comeback. 

Junior goaltender Chloe Crosby made 15 saves as the Cougars ended a nine-game win streak.

With the regular season wrapped up, both teams can begin preparing for the Class 2A, Section 1 playoffs, where they could meet for a third time this season.

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