Midway through its game against Hopkins, Buffalo found itself at a crossroads.
Sophomore forward Kylie Hanley just scored a power-play goal to push the Royals' lead to two goals.
“We talked about focus...we were puck watching - we felt - in the first period, and you just try to appeal to their competitiveness," Bison coach Ray Dahlof said.
Buffalo received the message and got back track, scoring five consecutive goals and holding Hopkins scoreless during the final 30 minutes to secure a 5-2 victory Tuesday night at Minnetonka Ice Arena.
Dahlof said playing to the Bison's strengths was crucial for the comeback.
“We’re a good club. We can score in bunches, we’ve done it before," he said. "We got some great top-end players and they showed it."
Just over a minute after Hanley’s goal, Buffalo senior forward Abby Halluska scored to end Royals junior goalie Annika Carlander's shutout bid.
Bison junior forward Taylor Thompson tied the game with a goal just 53 seconds later, and a score from sophomore forward Jamie Byrne gave the Bison the lead with 4:27 left in the second period.
Thompson, who added another goal and an assist in the third, said her experience level helped her excel.
“As a junior, I needed to step up my game because I’m considered an upperclassmen," Thompson said. "The competitive level came this year."
With her performance Tuesday night, Thompson is now third on the team in points with five. She is tied for second in goals with three and is the only Buffalo player with four special teams points (a power-play goal and assist, a short-handed goal and assist).
Last year, Thompson totaled 22 points (11 goals, 11 assists) during the regular season to help the Bison finish with an 18-7 record. She was also her team's co-leader in points in the Class 2A, Section 8 playoffs, tallying four goals and one assist as Buffalo won three games and captured its first a state tournament bid.
Dahlof said Thompson is a natural scorer.
“She has great speed and she’s a finisher,” Dahlof said. “She’s one of those goal scorers...the type that when she gets a chance like that, she can score a pretty high percent.”
Thompson’s athletic instinct was primed in the fall when she suited up for Buffalo’s volleyball team. The Bison finished with an 11-13 regular-season record and got knocked out of the Class 3A, Section 5 quarterfinals by No.1-seed Wayzata 3-0.
Thompson is torn on which is her favorite sport, but her choice might be a little easier if Buffalo is able to better last year's postseason run. The Bison lost to Edina 3-1 in the state quarterfinals and fell to Eastview 3-2 in the consolation tournament's first round.
Thompson said a key factor for making another trip to state is how hard Buffalo plays in games.
“I feel like not everyone gives 100 percent all the time," she said. "And when it comes to sections, that’s when you need to step it up and give it your all every shift. And if we do that, we can make it to state again."
Dahlof said the Bison are in a position to repeat last season’s success.
“We’ve seen some of the other section teams play, we feel we’re right in the mix and we think we have a big upside with this team. We’ve got some young players that just keep getting better, and our top defenders have played well and consistently,” Dahlof said.
