Goal and assist in season opener
Hastings outshot visiting Farmington by a decisive 34-19 on the way to a 5-2 non-conference decision Saturday, November 27, at Hastings Civic Arena. The contest was the season opener for both teams.
"We had some moments but we were really hurt by our transitional defense," Tiger coach Keith Revels said. "Four of their goals came when we were moving from offense to defense.
"We worked hard and had numbers backchecking but we didn't communicate and left guys unaccounted for. That was far and away our Achilles heel."
The Tigers trailed 2-1 after the opening period with Jake Eldred (from Zak Payne) accounting for the Farmington score.
If there was a turning point, it might have come in the opening two minutes of the second period when Hastings scored two quick goals to build a lead too big for the visitors to overcome.
The Raiders outshot their guests 27-13 over the first two frames although Revels said his team had its chances.
"Hastings was shooting the puck every time they had the opportunity," he said, "and we weren't. When we had open looks at the net we didn't capitalize. That's another thing to work on."
Jake Sorenson (from Eldred and Kevin Olund) tallied the final Farmington goal midway through the second period.
Neither team found the net in the final period and Revels said keeping Hastings off the board for the final 17 minutes was a positive to take away from the loss.
"We stayed together as team even when we were down late and that was a good sign," he said. "In the past, that has not always been a strength for us."
Aaron Dahl worked the nets for the visitors, stopping 29 of the 34 shots he faced.
The Tigers return to the ice Tuesday, November 30, when they travel to Rochester for a game with Section 1AA rival John Marshall.
