SABERS HAND TIGERS 5-2 SETBACK

by Pat Rupp

Baseball may be a game of inches but the difference between a win and a loss in hockey can be even smaller, sometimes the thickness of a coat of paint on the goal post or crossbar.

Farmington coach Jon Holmes pointed that out following his team’s 5-2 South Suburban Conference loss to Shakopee Tuesday night at Schmitz-Maki Arena.

“In terms of zone time I thought the scale tilted in our favor and we controlled the play in their end most the night,” he said. “It would have been nice for one or more of our solid four clanks off the crossbar and post to find the twine.”

The visitors broke on top early in the opening period on a shorthanded goal by Nicole Vogel but a minute later the Tigers returned the favor when Bailey Kelley notched her fifth goal of the season on assists from Marissa Agerter and Ellie Moser.

The Sabers took the lead for good with a power play score in the final minute of the second period by Tristin Truax to set up an exciting final 17 minutes.

Farmington seemed to get the better of play in the third, outshooting the Sabers, 14-8, but Shakopee won the battle of the scoreboard by netting two quick goals to build a 4-1 cushion.

Moser’s team-high sixth goal of the year off Agerter’s team-leading fifth assist cut the deficit to two goals with eight-plus minutes to play but the Tigers could not get the puck by Shakopee netminder past Camryn Noess the rest of the way.

The Sabers added an empty net goal in the game’s closing moments to account for the final score.

Each team managed 32 shots in the contest with Tiger goalie Emily Auge recording 27 saves in her second loss of the season.

“I thought the game was very evenly matched and I attribute their win to them crashing the net and getting rebounds,” Holmes said. “They were very good at causing havoc in front of the net when they had opportunities and their shots came in huge bunches, not sustained or constant pressure…We played hard and overall had a solid game.”

The Tigers were without the services of co-captain Maddi Oines and Megan Bernu who were shelved by injuries.

“We also had some sickness to deal with but I still thought we played tough against a very good team,” Holmes said.

The defeat dropped the Tigers to 2-2-1 for the season and 1-2-1 in South Suburban Conference play.

Saturday the girls head to Burnsville to take on the Blaze who have started the season 1-3. Face-off is slated for 3:00 p.m. at the Burnsville Ice Center.