Tigers Nip No. 7 Eden Prairie for Third Straight

by Pat Rupp

Farmington made it three wins in a row with an exciting 4-3 win over seventh-ranked Eden Prairie Saturday afternoon at Schmitz-Maki Arena.

Bailey Kelley who missed the first three games of the regular season with a concussion suffered in a pre-season scrimmage scored the game-winner at the 12:09 mark of the final period on assists from Marissa Agerter and Carly Simon.

“The line of Ellie Moser, Agerter and Kelley will be one that will give teams fits in the games to come and they gave a little glimpse of that tonight,” Tiger coach Jon Holmes said. “They are all three threats and once they get their jive playing together it will be fun to watch.”

Things couldn’t have gotten off to a better start for the home team as Agerter and Savanna Tucker each scored a goal in the first 8:54 of the opening period for a two-goal lead. Jenna Gerold assisted on both of the goals as the hosts outshot the Eagles by a robust 12-5.

The lead didn’t last long, however, as Eden Prairie countered with two unanswered scores of its own in period two to send the teams to the final break deadlocked at 2-2.

Moser (from (Kelley) put the Tigers back on top with a power play score early in the final period but moments later the Eagles responded to set up Kelley’s late-game heroics.

The deciding goal started with an up ice-pass from Simon to Agerter who slid a nice back door pass to Kelley who celebrated her return to action with the game-winner.

“It was a highlight reel goal that came from a real team effort in terms of passing and putting pressure on the net,” Holmes said.

The final six minutes featured added pressure by the visitors but goalie Emily Auge and the Farmington defense held serve to pick up the win.

Auge kept her season mark perfect at 2-0 with a 21-save effort. As has been the case all season, the Tigers had a big edge in shots on goal, 41-24.

Holmes said he was elated with this team’s win against a top-10 team but cautioned his squad has a lot of work to do before it gets to where it wants to be.

“I think this win speaks a lot about the girls’ grit and mindset,” he said. “Despite it just being one of those nights where things were not going our way around the net, we were able to get it together and lean on each other to pull out a nice victory.

“But we will need to tighten up in our own defensive zone much more as we go through the season. The scoring chances are there; the puck is finding the net, and now we just need to really take pride in managing our own end of the rink and play with the mentality that we will not always get bailed out by an abundance of offensive goals.”

Farmington will put its three-game winning streak on the line Tuesday’s when it welcomes Section 1AA rival Owatonna to Schmitz-Maki for a non-conference game..