Mounds View senior goalie Mary Dingman needed a solid performance to bounce back from her last outing. So did the Mustangs.
Dingman gave up seven goals as Minnetonka shut out Mounds View on Dec. 4 in only the second loss by more than one goal for the Mustangs in their last 68 games.
Mounds View coach Aaron Moberg said the loss could be divisive.
“We could decide to use that as a game to bring us together, or it could tear us apart easily and start pointing the finger,” Moberg said.
The Mustangs chose to pass on the pointing and come together, and Dingman returned to the form that her teammates are accustomed to seeing from the four-year starter as she stopped 19 out of 20 shots to help Mounds View defeat Roseville 5-1 in a Suburban East Conference game Tuesday night at the National Sports Center’s Schwan Super Rink in Blaine.
Dingman’s only blemish on the night was a goal given up to the Raiders early in the third period with the Mustangs (4-2-1) leading 3-0.
Moberg never lost confidence in Dingman, despite a less-than-stellar stat line from the Skippers’ game. She saved 30 of 37 shots and finished with a .811 save percentage.
“There was never a question of putting her back in the net,” Moberg said. “The girls love playing in front of her and she responded big time tonight and she made some big saves at big moments.”
Indeed she did. Dingman made eight saves in the second period and stopped six of seven shots in the third against the Raiders. Roseville (4-2-3) also went scoreless on it’s three power plays.
Mounds View senior defender Maddy Quickstad, who scored a goal in the victory, said Dingman is “one of the best goaltenders in the state.”
Quickstad has proof to backup her contention, as Dingman has had plenty of big moments wearing a Mustangs’ sweater. Dingman led Mounds View to two state tournament appearances (2012 and 2014) and has won 46 games in her career.
Despite the accolades from her coach and teammate, Dingman was modest about her performance against the Raiders and said she can improve on it.
“It was okay,” she said. “Obviously, there’s places where you can do better.”
