FAIRMONT — The Fairmont Area Cardinals women’s hockey team won a thriller 2-1 in overtime against the Winona Senior Winhawks in a nonconference matchup Friday night at Martin County Arena. Dropped.
A change in strategy by Cardinals head coach Eric Householder proved to be effective in the narrow loss.
Householder decided to shift team captain and senior forward Vera Larson to defense with starting defenseman Shay Dietz out due to illness.
“I was definitely happy with the results of the line.” said the landlord. “We put Berra back on defense, freed up the center spot and shuffled around with a few other guys. The intensity on home ice tonight was great.”
With Larson back on defense, the Cardinals were able to string together their counter-attacks a little better and overall the group worked better together on the ice.
Despite the positive changes, the Cardinals still fell behind early.
With 9:53 left in the first period, Winhawks senior forward Ana Maria Gomez Angeles found the back of the net off an assist from junior Kasha Kobala. The Winhawks would hold a one-point lead at the end of the first period.
Less than 30 seconds into the second period, the Cardinals responded. With 16:36 left, Fairmont junior forward Avi Sandeen scored off an assist from freshman forward Frankie Martin to tie the game at 1-ALL.
“You can see her growth in practice. She’s definitely a little bulldog.” A family member said of Martin: “She’s not afraid to jump in there and get into the corner, and you see that in practice, but she stepped it up a little bit last year by playing in a game and scoring her first goal. ”
The score remained unchanged going into the third period.
The third period was a back-and-forth affair. During this period, the Winhawks and Cardinals both played a more aggressive style, but neither was able to break even.
As the final minutes passed, it became clear that the match was headed for overtime.
As the game entered extra time, both teams were made aware of the eight-minute golden goal rule, meaning the first team to score a goal wins.
The Winhawks started the period with three quick shots on goal from Cardinals junior keeper Ilana Moller.
Moller had been great for the Cardinals up to that point, making 39 saves on the night.
But that wasn’t enough, as Winhawks senior forward Avery Embrecht scored off an assist from senior Ana Maria Gomez Angeles with 7:26 left in overtime to seal the win.
After the close win, Winona Senior improves to 2-5 overall and will face Mankato West/Loyola/St. Louis. Claire is in Winona today at 3:15 p.m.
As for the Fairmont area, the Cardinals are 0-8 overall and will have the weekend off as their next game will be played at Martin County Arena on Tuesday night at 7 p.m.
Winona 1 0 0 1 — 2
Fairmont 0 1 0 0 — 1
Scoring the play
1st period
W – Ana María Gómez Ángeles (Caja Cobala), 9:53.
2nd period
FA – Avi Sandeen (Frankie Martin), 16:36.
3rd period
No points.
over time
W – Avery Embrecht (Ana Maria Gomez Angeles), 7:26.
Shots on goal: Winona Senior 17-14-10-3-44; Fairmont Area 6-6-7-0–19.
Saves: Ilana Moller (Fairmont) 42; Ariana Bovell (Winona) 18.