League-leading Eagan Snaps Tiger Win Streak at Eight

by Pat Rupp

Maddie Mason’s goal 6:35 into overtime gave South Suburban Conference leader Eagan a hard-fought 3-2 win over the Tigers Saturday afternoon at Eagan Civic Arena.

Eagan’s victory upped the Wildcats’ season record to 11-1 and a perfect 7-0 in South Suburban play. Farmington stands at 8-2 overall and 5-2 in league play. For the Tigers, the loss also snapped a month-long win streak that spanned eight games.

“We had a ton of good looks at the net,” Farmington coach Jon Holmes said. “Lots of point blank chances. It was actually really good to see us getting into better shooting position…now we just need to convert those in big games.”

The Wildcats got the better of the scoring chances (9-4) in the opening frame but neither team could find the net to set the stage for an exciting, back-and-forth final two periods.

“We had a very lackluster first period again,” Holmes said. “We got outshot 2-to-1 but we took control about the eight-minute mark of the second period and kept it to the end.”

Eagan’s Bella Weaver opened the scoring three minutes into the second period but the Tigers countered with a power play score by Ellie Moser (from Marissa Agerter) later in the period to send the team to the final break deadlocked at a goal apiece. Moser’s goal was her team-leading 14th of the season.

“Ellie had two more shots in the second that hit the crossbar,” Holmes said.

Brooke Peplinksi gave the Eagan home crowd something to cheer about when she put the Wildcats on the board at 4:09 of the third period but once again the visitors answered in kind.

Farmington’s tying goal came from Savanna Tucker (from Claire Enright) at 6:02 of the third to re-knot the score and set up a nail-biting end to regulation.

Each team had to skate off a penalty after Tucker’s tying score but some sturdy defense and quality goaltending at both ends sent the game into an extra eight-minute session.

The Tigers had to kill another penalty early in the overtime period but 41 seconds after the penalty expired, Mason delivered for Eagan to put the “W” in the Wildcat column.

The game was about as even as the scoreboard with Eagan finishing with a 26-22 edge in shots on goal. Each team suffered three minor penalties in the crisply played contest.

Farmington netminder Emily Auge (5-1) absorbed her first loss of the season but played solidly between the pipes.

“The winning goal was unfortunate for us,” Holmes said. “Emily played great but the puck bounced off one of their players and into the net. That’s the way it goes in tight games.”

“It was a fun game to watch and be a part of,” Holmes said. “Both teams played solid hockey. We just needed a better start.”

Eagan now holds a two-game lead in the South Suburban over Lakeville North who fell 4-2 to Apple Valley on Saturday. The Tigers are a half game back in third place in the eight-team league standings.

Farmington has one more game on the schedule before Christmas, a Thursday night home contest with Eastview at Schmitz-Maki Arena. The Tigers host the annual eight-team Louie Schmitz Holiday Classic December 27-29.