Tigers drop 3-1 verdict to Lakeville South

by Pat Rupp

The Tigers scored first but in the end it was defending South Suburban Conference champion Lakeville South that came away with a 3-1 win in the season opener for both teams played Tuesday night at Haase Arena in Lakeville.

Senior forward Kenna Cavanaugh got the visitors off to a flying start, netting the first goal 90 seconds after the opening faceoff on assists from Jenna Gerold and Bailey Kelley.

The Cougars tied the count late in the opening period and then put the game away with two unanswered scores in the second.

“It seemed to me it was one of those nights that our team’s energy level was a bit low,” Farmington coach Jon Holmes said. “The girls all played hard and brought effort but you could tell we just didn't have the level of fuel I have seen from this team and know we have.” 

The official stat sheet showed South outshot the Tigers by a 28-18 count, a number Holmes said might be a little off but nonetheless one that tells the story of how the game went.

“Our managers had numbers that were a little closer,” he said, “but regardless, the difference was South did a nice job of getting the puck to the net.  They definitely out played us in that area and did a good job of getting our defense to turn their backs to find the puck and create rebound opportunities. This was something we did not do. 

“I told the girls that we were trying to be too pretty and not gritty. That will be something we definitely will work on the rest of the week.”

Farmington played without the services of all-South Suburban netminder Emily Auge who is out with mononucleosis but Holmes said back-up Abby Bollig (25 saves) performed well in her absence.

“Emily came out of tryouts as our starter,” Holmes said, “but as expected, Abby was very solid in the net.”

Holmes said the season-opening loss was not without its positive side.

“The promising part is that even though we got behind we still kept ourselves in a position to win the game,” he said. “We are looking forward to seeing South in the second round of conference play.” 

“As we get more familiar with the line combos I would predict we are going to see some great things from the (Ellie) Moser, (Marissa) Agerter, (Emily) Rubins line as well as our second line that scored the goal tonight. 

“Bailey (Kelley) and Jenna (Gerold) have always played well together and Kenna (Cavanaugh) brings a good balance of solid defensive zone play.”

The Tigers don’t get much time to rest after Tuesday’s loss, lacing up the skates again Friday night with a South Suburban home game against Eagan.