This is the type of matchup I live for.  Two excellent teams playing an intersectional game when they haven’t played for a long time.  A star player I’ve never seen in person.  Two young head coaches that could be doing this for many years to come.  Throw in a Top 10 matchup. Add a pinch of salt . . . Okay, let’s not go too far. When I saw this one on the schedule I circled it.  And when Lake Brantley knocked off Lake Highland early this season that made me circle it twice.  In this wild high school season I was witness to another in a long line of intriguing matchups and the game was great to watch.  The final score might not reflect it because Jupiter ran off three late goals as part of a 5-0 fourth to make it seem easy but it was anything but that.  The fist half was almost like watching each team playing against themselves in a mirror.  Very similar offensive play and both goalies were playing well.  Low numbers of turnovers and no first half penalties (2 all game).  Solid positional defensive play both ways and even pretty much a wash on the faceoffs. Hence the 4-4 score at half. But as the game wore on in the second half Lake Brantley hurt themselves with their shooting and that allowed Jupiter to take their time and grind out a lead, holding LB scoreless after half time.  And finally they were able to get inside looks and that’s where they eventually won the game.  That plus a heck of a performance by goalie Viper Scheele in the second half, a player I am going to miss covering next year after a fun four years. As for the other side. Jared Bernhardt is a special talent.  You can hear all about him but it doesn’t do him justice until you see what he brings to the field. Readers of my columns know I tend to sometimes bring in comparisons that can raise some eyebrows . . . okay, a lot of eyebrows. After the game I told LB head coach Jake Bernhardt my thoughts on Jared and asked him not to laugh at first.  To his credit he didn’t. I’ve always been a fan of figure skating.  Olympics, World Championships, etc.  Even went to a couple of ‘Champions On Tour’ events after the Olympics were up.  Anyone who skates on ice or plays hockey knows about the sound of the skate hitting the ice . . . I can best describe it as ‘swish’ . . . I’m not sure of the science behind it but it probably has to do with the edge of the skate digging into the ice when turning or pushing off/stopping.  When you go to these tours the crowds tend to be fairly quiet during the performance and you can hear the skates working across the ice.  On one of those tours there was one female skater where I did not hear that sound and I suspect it was because the skating was so much easier for her than anyone else.  That was Dorothy Hamill, the 1976 Gold medalist.  The two things that stood out to me about her was that lack of sound and how fast she skated while performing her routine. Those who skate might enlighten me but I suspect that the quieter the sound the faster you are going with the blade flat on the ice.  Something to do with friction. I’m not alone in thinking Dorothy Hamill was the best women’s figure skater of all time.  There was no friction in her skating. Jared Bernhardt to me is the Dorothy Hamill of Florida lacrosse.  Is he the greatest player Florida has ever produced?  Too early to tell about that.  After all, his two older brothers are pretty darn successful.  But Casey Powell always tells me that youngest brother Mikey was the best in his family and one day we might be able to say that here too. What stuck out to me about last night, and let’s put aside how well Jupiter played him . . . facing him, long-poling him with Joey Bretz even 40 yards from the cage . . . was how effortless everything he did looked.  Deceptively fast, always on balance, a comfort level with the stick and the ability to pass on target from basically any angle without telegraphing what he was going to do. It even looked like he wasn’t using a stick, almost like his arm just had an extension and his hand was throwing the pass.  His only goal of the game, the first one, was a thing of beauty and I hope to post it at some point.  It was by Viper before he could move, because he didn’t have to take a full windup like so many others do.  About 12 yards, on the full run, with his OFF HAND, hitting about three inches inside the far side and three inches off the ground.  Probably the 12,757th time he’s hit that spot in games, team practices and the 6×6 electric tape that is probably wearing out on some wall somewhere.  Or maybe not, by now he probably isn’t hitting the tape very much. There is no friction in his game. If you’ve never seen him play and have a chance to do so, do yourself a favor and make the effort.   The game was a joy.  Physical but never a cheap shot thrown.  Many loose ball scrambles that went on for a while.  Everything earned.  Fast paced.  But not out of control. Lake Brantley started quick.  Bernhardt’s goal came at 11:29 off the left alley dodge for 1-0.  Then at 10:16 Dylan Barnes made it 2-0 on a solo effort, starting up top, going down the right alley and beating the defender towards the cage, hitting the top left corner.  Jupiter got one back at 8:39 as Tanner Gabriel found Kevin Justice cutting to the middle from the top right wing and Justice hit the low right side for 2-1.  Then with 1:32 left Mike Dobrowolski took advantage of a fast break off a clear, beating the defense down the right side before scoring low and it was 3-1 LB after the first. Jupiter’s Gavin Nimmo made it 3-2 at 7:28 as he went down the right alley and got ahead of his defender before placing a perfect bounce shot to the far side that kicked high.  LB regained the two goal margin a minute later as Austin Guerrina worked the left wing before finding space between Viper’s legs from the outside.  At 2:42 it was 4-3 as Michael Dean isolated behind the right side of the net against the short stick and forced his way out front, finishing with a low, left hand shot and with 1:38 left Gabriel tied it up with an up top shot that found the low left corner to send us to halftime with the score knotted at 4. To me the turning point of the game was the first four minutes of the third quarter.  LB came out with an extra intensity and fired 8 shots at goal in the first four minutes but none of them actually hit the net and when possession was finally lost it seemed to take a little out of them.  Ian O’Connor gave Jupiter the lead on the crease after Gabriel found him from right GLE and O’Connor one-timed it for 5-4 with 4:32 left.  On the other end, Lake Brantley’s shooters finally started getting the shots on target and Scheele turned away all of them. The fourth was all Jupiter as they were able to find better looks in the quarter and Scheele seemed to be getting into the LB shooters heads a little, as a number of good looks missed the cage and some outside shots were easy pickings.  Nothing really dramatic, just the little difference makers in distance and trying to get the shot off a little too quickly.  At 9:38 Justice dodged down the middle and found Dean down low on the right and Dean leaned in for the easy score.  Then at 6:05 Gabriel was able to draw a slide off Dean and Dean was left alone in front for the 7-4 lead. Later in the game Jupiter started to work the clock and LB tried pulling the goalie on the ride and that eventually led to three late goals to seal it.  Cole Lipscher had an open path to goal on the 7-man ride at 2:36. Denver Aranda and Tommy Pinkham teaming up on a fast break with 1:39 left and O’Connor with the empty net with 5 seconds remaining to finish the scoring. Two great teams, one beautiful night and two great players that we will be watching next year and hopefully four more years on your WatchESPN App, as we say today . . . Jupiter travels the Turnpike Tuesday to take on Lake Highland and Lake Brantley goes home to face Winter in Spring, as their final two games will be against Winter Park and Winter Springs.   Team Statistics   Faceoffs:  LB  10-7 Shots:  LB  38-29 Shots on Goal:  LB  20-18 Turnovers:  11 each Penalties:  1 each   Individual Statistics   Jupiter Michael Dean  3G Ian O’Connor  2G Tanner Gabriel  1G/3A Kevin Justice  1G/1A Gavin Nimmo, Cole Lipscher and Denver Aranda  1G each Tommy Pinkham  1A Viper Scheele  16 saves   LB Jared Bernhardt, Dylan Barnes, Mike Dobrowolski and Austin Guerrina  1G each Jake Markiewicz 8 saves   Thanks to Coach Loftus and Coach Bernhardt for talking to me before and after the game