Farmington vs. Prior Lake 11/11/14
By Pat Rupp
11/11/2014, 11:15pm CST
Tigers Rally to Down Lakers in SSC Opener
Tigers rally to down Lakers in SSC opener
by Pat Rupp
Farmington (2-0) allowed visiting Prior Lake three first period goals before roaring back over the final two periods to defeat the Lakers 6-4 Tuesday night at Schmitz-Maki Arena.
The win was a historical one for coach Jon Holmes and his young Tigers who notched a victory in their first-ever South Suburban Conference game.
“This was a roller coaster ride both physically and emotionally for the girls,” Holmes said. “It was their first home game and, of course, the first game in our new conference. They were more amped up than normal and it showed in the first period.”
Things didn’t look good early for the home team as the Lakers scored on three of their first seven shots to hit the first intermission with a 3-1 lead. The Farmington score came on a shorthanded goal from Ellie Moser on an assist from Morgan Medved.
Strong special teams play pulled the Tigers back in the game in the second period. Maddi Oines netted her first goal of the season and Marissa Agerter from Hauswirth and Medved chalked up the third goal of the game on the power play to cut the Laker lead to 4-3 with a period to go.
The Farmington offense kicked into a new gear in the third period, scoring three unanswered goals much to the delight of the home crowd.
“We definitely gained confidence as we went through the second and third periods,” Holmes said. “We started to control the puck more and make better passes.
“We didn't ever really hit our full stride but we surely proved we have the ability to come back and win and not let ourselves get down and check out. That is a quality I could not be more proud of in such a young team.”
Hauswirth rang up the tying goal early in the third and less than a minute later Emily Rubins (from Kenna Cavanaugh and Dani Wright) supplied what proved to be the game-winner. Marissa Agerter added a cherry to the victory sundae with an empty net goal in the game’s final minute.
Holmes liked what he saw from both his veterans and his youngsters in the conference opener.
“Our returning players stepped up to fill in the gaps nicely and played solid down the stretch,” he said,” and our Valley Fair line of Hauswirth, Agerter and Medved continued to be aggressive with the puck.”
Holmes explained the unique name for the line came from the observation that none of the three would probably meet the minimum height requirement to enjoy the rides at the Shakopee amusement park.
Freshman Abby Bollig drew her first start in goal for the Tigers and turned away 13 of 17 Prior Lake shot attempts in recording the win. Farmington finished the night with a 24-17 shots on goal advantage.
“Abby is an extremely hard worker and made some real big saves late in the game to keep us on top,” Holmes said.
The Tigers don’t get much time to savor their win as they’re back on the Schmitz-Maki ice Thursday night for a non-conference match-up with Eden Prairie.
“We surely have a long way to go as far as learning and executing goes,” Holmes said, “but it was good to see us overcome such a big hurdle in our first conference game.”
