Boys Hockey: Tigers rout Rockets; South next

John Siebenaler had a hat trick and an assist (photo by Jim Lindquist)

When the Tigers played Rochester John Marshall at Schmitz-Maki Arena in early December they eked out a 4-3 non conference win.

In Saturday's twice-delayed rematch in the opening round of the Section 1AA tournament it was an entirely different story with the red-hot Tigers rolling to a lopsided 10-2 victory.

The win upped Farmington's season record to 22-3-1 and stretched its school-record winning streak to 18 games heading into Monday's semifinal match up with Lakeville South.

Saturday's contest was close for a period with Jack Erickson's goal (from Dallas Ticker and Devin Bernu) the only score.

"We really dominated the puck in the first period," Tiger coach Keith Revels said, "even though we had only the one goal to show for it."

From there on, it was a rout of major proportions. The winners found the back of the net four times in the second period and then added five more scores in the third to complete the blowout.

"One of the biggest differences was depth," Revels said. "JM played hard but they seemed to get tired as the game wore on."

Austin Martinsen 2 goals, 3 assists (photo by J. Lindquist)

The Tigers outshot the Rockets 33-14 for the night and connected on almost a third of their tries, an average that would make Joe Mauer proud.

The potent Justin Novak-John Siebenaler-Austin Martinsen line did much of the heavy lifting for the Tigers, accounting for six goals and seven assists. Siebenaler recorded a hat trick and had an assist. Martinsen scored twice and added three assists and playmaker Novak continued to pile up points with a goal and three assists.

"Justin is a very special player and moves the puck," Revels said. "John and Austin are snipers and together they are really clicking on all cylinders right now."

Erickson, Landon Neilsen, Grady Hauswirth and Chris Fitzgibbons also scored goals for the winners. Bernu, Tyler Jette and Jake Trippel each handed out a pair of assists. Tucker, Benton Olson, Alex Aubrecht and Wyatt Jensen each had one.

Tiger goalkeeper Nick Schoening had a relatively quiet night in earning his ninth win of the season with a dozen saves.

"We are a completely different team than we were when we played them (JM) during the regular season," Revels said. "Some new contributors, some different line combinations and just all round better."

The second-seeded Tigers face-off against No. 3 seed South (9-17) on Monday night at the Rochester Recreation Center for the right to play top-seeded Lakeville North in Thursday's section championship game back in Rochester. The puck drops at 7:00 p.m.

Justin Novak goal, 3 assists (photo by Jim Lindquist)