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Lakeville North's Angelo Altavilla not done with hockey yet

By Sam Wigness, Sport Ngin, 03/28/15, 8:15AM CDT

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Panthers senior defenseman playing in Ted Brill Great 8 before focusing solely on baseball

Photo by Brian Nelson

After a perfect 31-0 season with Lakeville North, senior Angelo Altavilla decided it was time to flip the switch from hockey to baseball for the last time.

Right after the Ted Brill Great 8 Festival, that is.

For many, the Great 8 is an opportunity for the state's top seniors to impress junior, collegiate and professional scouts. But Altavilla, who played in front of hockey scouts all year and is already committed to a University of Nebraska for baseball, wants to stretch his hockey career for at least one more weekend.

“It crossed my mind that the state championship game might be my last ever hockey game,” said Altavilla, who played for Section 1A/AA in Friday's 5-3 loss to Section 3A/AA. “I couldn’t have gone out on a better note, especially spending the whole season with my best friends. I think the Great 8 tournament will be pretty fun, but I’m pretty set on baseball.”

For as long as he can remember, Altavilla has worn skates in the winter and cleats in the spring, splitting his energy between hockey and baseball. While gifted at both, baseball always seemed to be the better fit.

“I always used to make the B team the first year and the A team the second year in hockey,” he said. “Baseball just worked out better in early high school. I was always in the top tier of players, and when I made the varsity team as a sophomore I pretty much decided I wanted to stick with it.”

As a junior, Altavilla belted three home runs, two of which were grand slams, and drove in 12 runs in a single game. The Minnesota State High School Baseball Coaches Association recognizes the feat as a single-game state record, and the shortstop became one of six high school players in Minnesota history to hit two grand slams in one game.

Altavilla signed a letter of commitment to Nebraska on Nov. 12, just two weeks before the Panthers began their undefeated campaign with a 6-5 win over Farmington. The defenseman recorded just 12 points (four goals and eight assists) during the regular season but was part of defensive unit that Lakeville North rallied around.

“I’m 100 percent sure there would be more than one school interested in him if he chose to pursue a hockey career,” Lakeville North coach Trent Eigner said. “I’ve had more than one conversation about it with people, but his commitment to Nebraska for baseball makes it tough to start planning for college or juniors.

“As a defensemen he’s an extremely gifted skater, and he shoots the puck really well,” Eigner said. “He has the ability to add offense from the defensive position. We saw that in the championship game where he jumped in and scored a goal."

Altavilla's goal in the state Class 2A title game against Duluth East gave North a 3-0 lead early in the third period and left him with another high school sports memory.

“The Poehling brothers were kind of doing their thing, and all of a sudden Nick fed me back door and I just slapped it in,” Altavilla said. “It’s kind of blurry now, it all happened so fast, but the feeling was incredible.”

With a state championship, perfect season and state record on his resume, Altavilla still has his senior baseball season ahead of him. However, like his decision to stick with baseball, he has already decided what his favorite high school moment is.

“I’d pick the state championship. There’s nothing better than winning state with your best friends in front of 21,000 people and going 31-0,” he said. “The baseball thing was kind of personal achievement, and it was special, but the state championship was way better.”

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