TIGERS SKATE T0 2-2 TIE WITH NO. 7 SOUTH

By Pat Rupp

Farmington’s stock continued to tick upward after Tuesday night’s 2-2 tie with seventh-ranked Lakeville South at Schmitz-Maki Arena.

The contest marked the third straight in which coach Jon Holmes’ skaters have shown marked improvement. Last Saturday, the girls shutout Rosemount 3-0 and that came on the heels of a competitive 4-2 loss to South Suburban Conference leader Burnsville.

“We have moved from recognition of areas where we need to be accountable to taking action on them,” Farmington coach Jon Holmes said. “We still have a long way to go as far as full game execution goes, but I have been pleased to see the concepts and strategies we are practicing every day are translating to the games as well.”

The Tigers got an early break when former teammate Claire Enright drew a tripping penalty in the opening minute, leading to a quick power play score by Sadie Long (from Sam Moehle) and a 1-0 lead.

“It’s tough going against a former teammate, let alone a former captain and friend” Holmes said. “But we kept our emotions in check. I think that says a lot about our character and drive.”

The early lead didn’t last long, however, as Cougar goals by Ryann Wright and Teri Olin later in the period gave the visitors a one-goal edge heading to the first intermission.

The Tigers outshot South by a healthy 10-5 in the second period but neither team found the net to set up a nail-biter of a third frame.

Again Farmington got the better of the scoring chances (15-8) but scored only a single goal to send the game into an eight-minute extra period. Moehle did the honors, unassisted, at the 9:05 mark.

The Cougars got the better of the play (11-4 in shots on goal) in overtime but thanks to a hustling defense and continued solid play from goalie Raleigh Furlong, the teams left the ice with a draw. Furlong finished with 33 saves, giving her 63 (out of 65 shots) in the last two games for a lofty save percentage of .969.

“Ryleigh has made some adjustments in the past few weeks,” Holmes said. “They have helped a lot. She is playing very comfortably.”

The tie left the Tigers with a season and South Suburban Conference record of 2-3-1 while South sits at 4-1-1. The two teams have another date at Hasse Arena in early March and will likely square off at some point in the Section 1AA post-season tournament.

“We want to keep improving throughout the regular season so we can get all of the kinks out of our game and be hitting on all cylinders by the playoffs,” Holmes said. “Those are the games that really count.

“I think that if you would ask our girls, they would say they played well below their expectations in this particular game. But that is a positive because we know what we gave and we know what we actually have.”

Next up on the docket for the Tigers is a Saturday afternoon conference clash with defending champion Apple Valley at Schmitz-Maki. Faceoff is 3:00.