Lancaster gives Tigers 2-1 win in OT in Schmitz Tourney

by Pat Rupp

Carly Lancaster took a pass from Izzy Zwart and whistled a shot from the high slot past Owatonna goalie Asia Buryska with 1:25 remaining in overtime to give the Tigers a 2-1 hard-fought mental and physical win over the Huskies Thursday night in the opening round of the Louis Schmitz Holiday Classic at Schmitz-Maki Arena.

The game-winner brought a fitting end to a frustrating game for the Tigers who dominated play despite spending 17 minutes in the penalty box and couldn’t convert a 39-18 shots on goal advantage to more than one goal through 51 minutes of regulation.

“We struggled a little right out of the gate but after that we were in complete control,” Farmington coach Jon Holmes said. “We hit a couple of pipes and missed a few open looks. We just couldn’t score…We’ve had a few of other games like this but over time things tend to even out. We’ll eventually start finishing off those situations.”

Farmington outshot its guests 8-7 in a scoreless first period and finally broke the scoring ice at 4:58 of the second on a strong individual move by Sadie Long. The junior transfer from Holy Family sailed down the left side and backhanded the puck up and over Buryska’s right shoulder. Lancaster and Jayden Seifert assisted on Long’s score.

Shortly after, however, Tiger defender Liv Helleson was whistled for a 5-minute major for boarding and momentum seemed to take a turn. Owatonna helped the Farmington cause by committing its own infraction seconds later but just after the home team returned to full strength, the Huskies tied the count on a short range shot by Sarah Snitker.

Farmington managed to outshoot Owatonna 26-7 in the second and third periods but couldn’t manage a goal to set up an eight-minute, sudden-death extra period.

Things couldn’t have started much worse for the Tigers in overtime. They played shorthanded for most of the first six and a half minutes of the extra session after piling up four minor penalties.

“A couple of those calls were questionable but we have got to find a way to stay out of the box,” Holmes said.

Miraculously, the Tigers managed to skate off all four of the shorthanded situations and shortly after they got everybody back on the ice, Zwart and Lancaster delivered to give their team the win over their Section 1AA rival.

“Good win over a section opponent and it also keeps us alive for the tournament championship,” Holmes said.

The Tiger coach said he would like to see the puck in the net more often as well as having fewer penalties called on his team but added there was a silver lining in the penalty-fest that occurred in overtime.

“One of the officials came over after the game and said he was impressed by how our bench kept its cool while all that was going on,” he said. “We didn’t complain and just kept playing. I was glad to see and hear that.”

The win was the second straight in overtime for Farmington which edged Shakopee 4-3 on Helleson’s late goal last Saturday afternoon.

“I’d rather not have to go to overtime, but every time we win one of those games, it gives us more confidence that we are never out of it,” he said.

Farmington next plays old Missota Conference rival Northfield Friday night at 6:00 back at Schmitz-Maki Arena.