Sophie Slattery (10) shot the puck past Farmington goalie Abby Bollig (1) for a goal in the third period. Photo: Carlos Gonzalez * carlos.gonzalez@startribune.com
Last season, Edina couldn’t finish what it started.
“[The third period] was by far [our] worst period,” said first-year coach Sami Reber. “So we made it a goal at the very beginning of the season that that will never happen again.”
Exhibit A of improvement was on display Thursday as the top-seeded Hornets (26-1-1) scored three third-period goals on their way to a 4-1 victory over Farmington (16-12-2) in the Class 2A girls’ hockey quarterfinals at Xcel Energy Center.
It was 1-1 when the Hornets scored a pair of goals 32 seconds apart early in the third from juniors Lolita Fidler and Emily Oden. A couple of minutes later, senior Sophie Slattery made it 4-1 off a rebound on her own shot.
“I thought, personally, throughout the season, our team has been able to outwork teams in the third period with our endurance,” said senior Olivia Kilberg, who scored the Hornets’ first goal. “We always just find a way to bury the puck, which is awesome.”
The game was scoreless at the first intermission, despite plenty of point-blank scoring chances for the Hornets. Tigers goaltender Abby Bollig made 49 saves in the game.
Bollig went above and beyond “with the [Dominik] Hasek-like cartwheels … to keep us in that game,” said Tigers coach Jon Holmes.
The Tigers tied the score on a shorthanded goal from junior and Bemidji State commit Ellie Moser, who found the open net after Hornets goaltender Anna Goldstein came out to play the puck.
HEATHER RULE
It was a close call through two periods, but top-seeded Edina advanced with a 4-1 victory over Farmington.
It was 1-1 early in the third period of Thursday’s Class 2A quarterfinal at Xcel Energy Center when the Hornets (26-1-1) got goals 32 seconds apart early from junior Lolita Fidler and junior Emily Oden. A couple of minutes later, senior Sophie Slattery made it 4-1 off a rebound on her own shot.
The Hornets scored first with a second-period goal from senior Olivia Kilberg. She took the puck into the offensive zone and shot it five-hole.
Farmington (16-12-2) answered with a short-handed goal from junior forward Ellie Moser, who has commited to Bemidji State. She tied the game 1-1 into an open net after Hornets goaltender Anna Goldstein tried to play the puck out near the circles.
The game was scoreless at the first intermission, though Edina led in shots on goal 16-5. Tigers junior goaltender Abby Bollig was sharp early with more than a few point-blank saves. She kept helped keep it a close game, facing 31 shots through the first two periods.
The Tigers came into the tournament on an 8-2-0 streak and returned for the first time since 2008.
Check back later for more on the game.