Scoring Slump Continues in OT Loss to Eastview

by Pat Rupp

Farmington’s goal drought continued Tuesday night at Schmitz-Maki Arena in a 1-0 South Suburban Conference overtime loss to Eastview.

The Tigers continued to fill up the shots-on-goal column (28) on the stat sheet but could not dent the scoreboard against Lightning goaltender Kaitlyn Pellicci who finished the night with 23 saves.

The scoreless night left coach Jon Holmes scratching his head about his team scoring just four goals in five games so far this season.

“This was another tough one,” he said. Last year we averaged 4.2 goals a game with essentially the same group of players. It’s hard to explain.”

Lightning forward Natalie Snodgrass, an all-South Suburban performer last season, scored the game’s only goal 3:20 into the extra period.

Abby Bollig had another big night in the nets for the Tigers in the losing effort, finishing with 22 saves.

“Abby has been phenomenal,” Holmes said. “She has kept us in every single game this year and is doing everything she can to give us an opportunity to win.  We can’t ask for any more out of her right now. 

“It is very comparable to having a Cy Young pitcher that throws a solid game every outing but just doesn’t have the bat’s to back it. The positive is that we are getting solid contact to stick. To stay with the baseball analogy, we just aren’t hitting the gaps yet.”

Unlike the offense, the Tigers’ defense has been stellar over the first five games.

“We are blocking shots, clearing rebounds, and filling lanes,” Holmes said. “Those are really positives for us and every single player deserves accolades for that…We all know that playing in the defensive zone is nowhere near as fun as playing offense so I am extremely proud of that aspect of our game.”

As for the sputtering offense, Holmes said it a major emphasis of every practice session.

“We focus on getting the goalie to move and opening up space to shoot,” he said. “We are getting plenty of shots. In fact, we are getting the same number or more than last year. We are also getting a good number of scoring chances from those shots that statistically speaking, have been 50/50 scenarios for us over the past three years.

“Our emphasis is on creating and working with time and space which has been evident in our play. So far it has translated into lots of opportunities, just not goals.”

The girls’ next opportunity to break out of their scoring doldrums comes Friday when they return to the Schmitz-Maki ice for a non-conference match-up with Hastings. The Raiders have started the season 1-6.