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Tigers Ice North, Head to Finals

By Pat Rupp, 02/12/17, 4:00PM CST

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Lanny nets her 3rd goal of the playoffs

Tigers Ice North, Head to Finals

by Pat Rupp

For the first time since 2011 the Tigers are headed to the Section 1AA championship game with a state tournament bid on the line. Farmington last made the state field in 2008 where it brought home a fourth place plaque.

Four different players scored goals and the defense and goaltending continued to be outstanding in a 4-1 win over Lakeville North in Saturday’s semifinals played at Ames Arena in Lakeville.

The win a was a testament to the faith and patience of coach Jon Holmes who maintained all year that his team would progress with the season and hit its stride in the playoffs.

“This particular group was faced with some early adversities as far as getting on the scoreboard,” Holmes said, “but they never once faltered in believing the process and journey would get us to a section championship. 

“I read a quote the other day that said if coaches are going to preach to their players that they need to trust the process, the process better be worth trusting and this group of players proved that they had the ability to not only trust in their process and preparation but that they could prove its worth the closer we got to the post season.”

Carly Lancaster (from Marissa Agerter and Emily Rubins) continued her post-season scoring surge to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead at the end of the first period in Saturday’s semifinals. Lancaster’s goals was her third in two playoffs games.

“Lanny has been playing very well of late,” Holmes said. “Her confidence level has grown every game throughout the year. Offensively she has been getting herself into prime scoring positions and has really been capitalizing. Her linemates Agerter and Rubins have been a major part of this as they are both skilled veterans…”

The score stayed 1-0 until under four minutes remained in the second period when the winners struck again when Jenna Gerold found the net on assists from Bailey Kelley and Megan Bernu.

Two-and-a-half minutes later lightning struck again when Savanna Tucker scored on the power play on an assist from Kenna Cavanaugh.

Farmington held a decided 25-14 in shots on goal through two periods but the Panthers roared of the break as Erin Olson (from Kate Winiecki and Maggie Flaherty) cut the North deficit to two just 25 seconds into the final frame.

“That could have been a major momentum shifter,” Holmes said, “but for us it was more of a reality check and we came back out and really limited any further chances to keep the game out of reach.

The third period featured a lot of back and forth with both teams having their chances but the scoring light didn’t go on again until Rubins banged home an empty-netter in the game’s final second to punctuate the Farmington win.

The win gave the Tigers the edge in the three-game season series 2-1. North won 3-1 in December with Farmington scoring a 2-1 victory in the regular season rematch.

Goaltender Abby Bollig notched her 11th win of the 2016-17 season, stopping 22 of 23 shots. Farmington won the shots on goal battle 33-23.

“The defense definitely limited the chances of North’s forwards,” Holmes said. “Most of the big shots they had came from the point and we cleared them effectively. Megan Bernu and Brenna Fuhrman again played extremely solid and really controlled the pace of play. All six of our defenders stepped up to stifle North’s offense throughout the game.”

The offense continued to gel, too. The four goals gives Farmington 10 in its two section wins, more than twice its season per game average.

“We are being more supportive in the offensive zone,” Holmes said. “We call it going downhill to the net and this is something we have been getting better at doing together rather than taking turns like we did earlier in the year.”

The Tigers will take on South Suburban Conference champion Lakeville South Thursday night in Owatonna to see who represents Section 1AA in the state tourney. The Cougars won both regular season games with Farmington, 3-1 in the season opener and 4-1 in early January.

“We played them a pretty tight game the first one and the second game was one of the biggest off- nights I have seen from our players both on and off the ice,” Holmes said. “Anyone could have beaten us that night….I think we match up well with South.”

Getting to the section finals had been one of Holmes’ goals since before pre-season practice began and now he is ready to add another.

“You have to put yourself in the game to get to a state tournament before that goal can be actualized,” he said.

The title clash will face off at 7:30 Thursday night at Four Seasons Center in Owatonna.