Dodge County ousts Tigers from section
by Pat Rupp
A veteran Dodge County team, ranked 13th in the most recent Let’s Play Hockey Class AA state poll, dominated the Tigers 6-0 in the opening round of the Section 1AA tournament played Wednesday night at Four Seasons Arena in Kasson.
Fifth-seeded Farmington kept it close for a period (1-0) but the winners put the contest away with a three-goal outburst in the second in which they outshot their guests by a 22-6 margin.
“We didn't have our best stuff,” Farmington coach Jon Holmes said. “In the end it boiled down to their veterans outmatching us.
“Our leaders this year did a phenomenal job getting our youngsters to step up and play a role that eighth and ninth graders aren’t usually asked to play. Finishing above .500 for the regular season was a major accomplishment and a huge confidence boost for those young players. Dodge just had more seasoning.”
Dodge County (18-6-1) added a pair of scores in the third period to account for the remainder of the scoring.
The Wildcats outshot the Tigers by a one-sided 45-16 count with busy Farmington goaltenders Maddie Bowe and Emily Auge combining with 39 saves.
“I would not have guessed a 6-0 game coming in,” Holmes said. “Even during the game we had chances, but it almost seemed as if every time we generated some real in-zone minutes we would have a small letdown and give up a breakaway or a 3-1 and get completely deflated. This really goes back to our experience versus theirs.”
The Tigers closed the 2014-15 season with a 12-12-2 record and finished fifth in the final 10-team South Suburban Conference standings.
Dodge County advanced to the Section 1AA semifinals against top-seeded Lakeville South Saturday at Hasse Arena in Lakeville.