Looking ahead, Tigers slip past by Valley 2-1

by Pat Rupp

To help jump start a sputtering offense, Tiger coach Jon Holmes and his staff made some significant line changes with an eye to the latter part of the schedule and the playoffs.

The changes didn’t produce a flood of goals but it did lead to some very teachable moments and a 2-1 South Suburban Conference road win over Apple Valley Tuesday night.

The victory lifted Farmington to within striking distance of .500 (4-5) for the season and 2-5 against South Suburban competition.

“We played four lines the entire game,” Holmes said. “In team meetings we have been pounding the fact that our eye is on February.  Obviously, we would like to get back into the driver’s seat before then, but as long as we are getting much needed steps toward team play we can deal with any short-term bumps.”

Leading scorer Ellie Moser netted both of the Tiger goals, one in the first period and one in second, to set up a raucous final frame. Moser’s first was unassisted; the second on assists from Emily Rubins and Brenna Fuhrman.

“Ellie made two wonderful shots,” Holmes said. “The goalie had no chance. She has been shooting like that all year but just off target by a foot or so. It was good to see her get that honed in. We also had a ton of opportunities from every other line.”

Holmes called the final 17 minutes a “Gong Show”. The Tigers piled up eight minutes of penalty time during the period and found themselves playing consistently shorthanded. Twice they killed off 5-on-3 situations.

“We were never able to get a regular line on the ice the entire period,” Holmes said. “I thought the girls stayed on point and stayed fresh and it was a test to say the least. Getting through a game and a period like that when things are not going our way in terms of puck luck and scoring was a huge accomplishment.”

Valley got on the board midway through the period on the power play but fine special teams play and stout goaltending from Abby Bollig (23 saves) helped save the day. Holmes had encouraging words for both.

“Abby had some big time saves throughout the third period that kept things together for us,” he said. “She had a diving paddle-down save that could have made ESPN Sports Center…We played well as a team defensively but I thought Megan Bernu and Brenna Fuhrman stood out. They make quite a pairing at the blue line.”

Holmes also liked the scoring chances his new lines manufactured, especially the trio of Cassie Knutson, Jenna Gerold and Bailey Kelley. He also lauded the individual play of Marissa Agerter who is returning to action after suffering a concussion a couple of weeks ago.

Friday night the Tigers return home to Schmitz-Maki Arena for a date with South Suburban Conference rival Burnsville (2-6 overall and 0-5 in the South Suburban).