Boys hockey: Big finish helps Tigers win Missota opener

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A five-goal third period vaulted Farmington to a 6-1 win over Shakopee in its Missota Conference boys hockey opener Friday night at Schmitz-Maki Arena.

The Tigers took the lead for good 4:01 into the third period when Dan Handberg scored a power play goal with assists going to Andrew Peterson and Tyler Grubb. Just under three minutes later, a Zak Payne score made it 3-1.

Peterson followed with a pair of goals — a short-handed goal and an empty-netter — to complete his first career hat trick. The line of Peterson, Grubb and Handberg finished with a combined four goals and six assists.

“Our lines seem to be gelling and we are moving the puck well and attacking the net for second chances,” Farmington coach Keith Revels said.

Payne closed out the scoring with another power-play goal at the 15:47 mark.

“We had a great outing, one of the best I’ve seen from us,” Revels said. “We played 51 minutes with high energy, moved the puck well, played solid defensively and overall made good decisions and stayed focused on the task at hand.”

Goaltender Victor Simones continued his strong play between the pipes, stopping 25 of 26 Shakopee shots. He’s gone 4-1 with a .930 save percentage and a 1.60 goals against average since taking over the position Dec. 3 against Cedarburg (Wis.).

“Victor has made the most of his opportunities,” Revels said. “He was solid all night. The goal they did get he cradled and it slipped down his arm and into the net. He is controlling his rebounds, sending them to the corner and covering those left in front.”

Earlier in the week, Simones stopped all 18 Dodge County shots as he picked up his first career shutout in a 7-0 win at Schmitz-Maki Arena.

It was the team’s first shutout since a 2-0 contest against St. Paul Como Park in the 2006 season opener.

Handberg opened the scoring with a power play goal 6:38 into the first period. The Tigers broke it open in the second when Grubb, Payne, Peterson and Matt Provost each scored goals.

“We tired them out by not allowing their players to change on the fly without icing the puck,” Revels said. “It was nice to see us go for a knockout blow when we had them down. We have let a lot of teams back in games in the past not finishing them off.”

Grubb and Quinn Eden each added third-period scores for the Tigers.

The Tigers, now 4-3 overall, played host to Rochester Mayo Tuesday night and travel to Simley tonight for their final pre-holiday contest.

Tags: boys hockey, sports, farmington, tigers, prep