First goal of the season in second period
Allie LaCombe scored a pure hat trick in the first period and unbeaten and 10th-ranked Eden Prairie (6-0-2) held on to defeat Farmington 3-2, Tuesday night, Dec. 7, at the Eden Prairie Community Center.
The one-goal loss to a state-ranked team was the second of the young season for the Tigers who dropped a 5-4 decision to third-rated Breck (Class A) in their season opener.
"We played ok in the first period," Tiger coach Jon Holmes said, "but we made three errors and they capitalized on all of them. From there on we definitely outplayed them."
After the first period Farmington outshot the Eagles by a decisive 29-11 but only two found the mark. Emily Severson (from Rachel Welzin) netted her first goal of the season midway through the second period and Krystal Baumann made things interesting with her 15th of the year early in the third.
"We didn't have much luck," Holmes said. "Their goalie played well but there were several occasions where we hit metal hard and the puck happened to bounce left instead of right...Despite the final score we really did play a solid three periods of hockey."
The Tigers outshot the Eagles 37-24 in the contest with goalie Jessica Erchul finishing with a 21-save night.
Holmes added that his team carried an extra burden in the non-conference contest, namely an untimely bout with the flu bug.
"We had several players affected but Krystal (Baumann) and Jessica (Erchul) could barely stand up when they weren't on the ice," he said. "But they both gave it their all. I was very impressed.
"If we can come with that type of intensity the rest of our season, we will be hard to beat."
Farmington will take its 4-4 season record to Owatonna Friday night, Dec. 10, for a non-conference game at Four Seasons Arena located on the Steele County Fairgrounds.
