Girls hockey: In the driver’s seat

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Another 2-0 week has Farmington in great position to win its second straight Missota Conference title.

The Tigers beat second-place Chaska/ Chanhassen, 4-3, last Tuesday, then shut out New Prague, 2-0, on Thursday to extend their winning streak to seven and their conference lead to two games with four to play.

The win over New Prague was a mirror image of the first game between the two teams back on Dec. 2. In that game, the Tigers posted a 41-15 advantage in shots on goal, but it took goaltender Jessica Erchul’s first shutout of the season to preserve a 2-0 win. In the rematch, the Tigers out-shot the Trojans 37-14, but once again struggled to find the back of the net during a 2-0 decision.

“We hit some iron, we missed some open nets, but all in all we played well,” coach Jon Holmes said. “Erchul came up big on a couple breakaways that could have lead to disaster for us had she not been solid.”

Senior forward Krystal Baumann broke a scoreless tie with her 32nd goal of the season (assist to Chloe Batta) 6:52 into the second period. Three minutes later, Batta scored a goal of her own, with assists going to Hannah Alexander and Rachael Peroutky.

Batta scored the game-winner last Tuesday, putting the puck past Chaska/Chanhassen’s goaltender midway through the third period to seal a 4-3 conference win at Schmitz-Maki Arena.

“This was a big time win against a good team,” Holmes said. “Chaska has really been playing well lately, having beaten every team in the Missota besides us and having some big wins over Eden Prairie, Breck and going to overtime with the number two rated Blake School.”

Four different players scored for the Tigers. Alexander notched a short-handed goal in the first period, and Haleigh Zwart and Baumann each scored in the second to give the home team a 3-2 lead.

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