Boys Hockey: Late goals secure back-to-back victories

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Through their first two games, the Farmington boys hockey team were part of two decisive final scores. One went in the Tigers’ favor. The other, not so much.

One thing Farmington hadn’t seen was a close game.

And for coach Keith Revels that left one lingering question – how would the Tigers perform in a one- or two-goal game.

They have certainly seen a close game now, and Farmington and its new coach got their answer last week. There is a lot of hockey left to be played, but early on this season, close games have gone the Tigers’ way.

Farmington beat Holy Family 3-2 in overtime and came back and earned a 6-5 win in the final minutes against Winona.

“Through the first four games, we’re pretty happy with the 3-1 record, especially considering three of four have been on the road,” Revels said. “I’m happy with our play, especially in the tight games. That has not been a strength in the past. We still need some consistency in our play, seem to be hot and cold at times. Our defensive zone was suspect.

“Winona is not a team that we want to give up five goals to. We are shooting for three goals against per game average, and need to be a little more stingy with the goals and opportunities we offer up to opposing teams.”

The Tigers made things exciting in their recent wins.

Farmington scored with 56 seconds remaining in the third period against Winona. The winner against Holy Family came on the first shift of overtime.

A shorthanded chance actually led to the game-winner on Saturday against Winona.

Andrew Thomas and Tylor Bambenek were the forwards out on the ice for the penalty-kill. Bambenek blocked a shot and was able to push the puck past a defender and out of the zone.

Bambenek then gathered the puck and forced the action with Thomas joining the rush. Bambenek then passed across the slot to Thomas who one-timed a shot past the goaltender.

It was the end of a back-and-forth affair that saw the teams alternate goals into the start of the third period. Winona scored twice to take a lead, but the Tigers came back with a pair of their own. After another tie, Thomas finished off the victory.

“From a fan perspective, what a game to watch,” Revels said. “Not exactly the type of game we want to engage in if we want to be successful in (Missota Conference) games, but it’s a (section) win. Going into the third with a 3-2 lead, we did not foresee a combined six goals in the third. It was nice to see us rally after getting down a goal for the first time in the game in the third period. We scored three goals in the final seven minutes of the game.

“This team lost many close games last year. It’s sure nice to win a couple, especially early in the season.”

Tyler Grubb had two goals and an assist in the win. Drew Schaeppi had two goals. Thomas and Greg Werner each added a goal and an assist. Jake Sorenson had three assists, while Michael Moser got the win in goal with 25 saves.

Moser also got the win between the pipes against Holy Family, after Werner scored just 32 seconds into overtime on the Tigers’ first shift. Thomas and Zach Payne had the other goals. Grubb had two assists.

“The second period was not our best,” Revels said. “We lost our focus and got caught up in things out of our control, like officiating.

“In the third period, we seemed to refocus and got quite a few good looks.”

Tags: sports, boys, hockey, farmington