ALHS hockey girls edged in section title game
Published 12:00 am Friday, February 14, 2003
ST. PETER &045; As members of the Farmington High School girls’ hockey team hoisted the Section 1A championship trophy in the air, the Albert Lea Tigers stood solemnly and watched.
The look on their faces said it all: They had the trophy in their hands, twice in the third period, and it was still seemingly theirs for the taking late in the game. But it got away.
The Tigers ended their memorable season one win away from the state tournament, falling 4-3 to top-seeded Farmington in the section title game Thursday night at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter.
It was a hard-hitting intense game in which only seven penalties were called despite physical play on both sides. Two of Farmington’s four penalties came late in the third period, giving the Tigers a two-skater advantage for 1:09, but they couldn’t get the tying goal.
&uot;That’s the way the section finals should be &045; a one-goal game, hard-fought all the way,&uot; said Tigers coach Mike Miller, who agreed that the difference between the teams was almost too small to measure, but added, &uot;That’s what wins games, the little things.&uot;
&uot;We played a real good game, Farmington played a good game,&uot; said Albert Lea goaltender Danika Porter. &uot;It was good competition.&uot;
Porter kept the Tigers in it in the first period as Farmington outshot the Tigers 10-5 while taking a 1-0 lead.
The Tigers controlled the second period, keeping the puck in Farmington’s zone the majority of the time while getting more and better scoring chances. They finally put the puck past Casey Preston at 13:33, when Laura Hillman set up Brittany Arendt with a perfect no-look, backhanded pass.
Both Porter and Preston had a number of outstanding saves in the second period as Albert Lea outshot Farmington 11-7.
The third period was a flurry of action, starting at the 1:18 mark when Arendt scored on another nice set-up from Hillman. Tessa Christensen also assisted.
It remained 2-1 until the 4:26 mark, when Farmington’s Amy Gilbertson beat Porter with a shot from a tough angle.
The tie lasted exactly 9 seconds. Hillman scored off the ensuing faceoff, assisted by Christensen.
The Tigers’ lead didn’t last much longer. Farmington answered on the next faceoff, knotting it at 3 at the 5:06 mark.
The Tigers took their third and last penalty of the game with 6:11 remaining and Farmington cashed in 23 seconds into the power play.
At 9:51, the Tigers got their third power play, and a second Farmington player went to the box at 10:42. The Tigers either fired wide or were denied by Preston the rest of the way.
For the night, Farmington outshot Albert Lea 25-21.
The third-seeded Tigers finished 21-8. Farmington improved to 24-4 with its 12th consecutive win.