Third period pure hat trick
For the second game in a row the Tigers broke open a close game with a third period offensive explosion. This time it came in an 8-1 win over Rochester Mayo, Tuesday, Dec. 21. at Schmitz-Maki Arena.
The victory was the fifth in the last six starts for Farmington (5-3) who has outscored its last two opponents by an outlandish 11-1 in the third period.
"We were a bit off early," coach Keith Revels said, "but we stuck with it, maintained our focus and didn't get frustrated.
"It was nice to see us respond to some adversity when the puck wasn't bouncing our way. It was even better to see us rewarded for doing so."
Jack Buss' shot from the point gave the Tigers an early lead but Mayo came back and tied the score after the opening period.
Kevin Olund provided the only score of the second period to set up what looked to be a nail-biter of a final period. Instead it was a laugher.
Andrew Peterson stretched the Tiger lead to two goals early in the third and then with fewer than seven minutes to play in regulation, the goals started coming in bunches.
Tyler Grubb who has now scored 12 points in his last three games rattled off three straight goals in a span of 3:44 for a pure hat trick to all but put the game away. The three-goal performance was Grubb's second of the season.
Quinn Malcolm and Matt Provost also found the net in the closing minutes for the winners.
"Like Shakopee, I think Mayo got worn down in the third period because we were able to go with our three lines," Revels said. "Our depth and physical play have been wearing teams down."
All three lines contributed at least a goal. The Grubb-Peterson-Dan Handberg line had four scores; the Blake Weinand-Provost-Malcolm trio three and the Olund-Zack Payne-Grant Hauswirth line one.
Victor Simones continued to have the magic touch in goal for the Tigers, stopping 16 of 17 shots and upping his season record to a lofty 5-1.
"Victor continues to be steady and playing fundamentally solid," Revels said.
Revels also lauded the play of his defensivecorp--Buss, Jake Sorenson, Johsn Donnelly. Quinn Eden and Justin Rees--that allowed the Spartans just 17 shots on goal.
"They did a nice job of getting the puck out of our end." he said.
The Tigers don't have much time to savor their win as they close out the pre-Christmas portion of their schedule with a trip to Inver Grove Heights Thursday night, Dec. 23, for a non-conference game with Simley.
