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Spuds survive rally, beat Otter girls 7-4
Published 10:39am Friday, January 25, 2013MOORHEAD — The Fergus Falls girls hockey team fought tooth and nail with the hosting Moorhead Spuds Thursday, but late goals doomed the rally 7-4.
The Spuds jumped out to an early lead as Kristin Drechsel found the back of the Otters net twice in the first period. Drechsel’s first goal came unassisted and she followed that with a goal less than 10 minutes later with an assist by Jenna Ulberg.
Drechsel would finish her hat trick midway through the second period off a Tori Davis and Erin McKaig pass. Davis would give the host a four goal lead just seconds later as she slipped the puck in off a Ulberg assist.
The Otters were shaken out of their slumber after that as they responded with three goals. Megan Niblock got Fergus on the board as she slapped in a power play goal off passes by Lauren Norgren and Steph Kolstad. Norgren would add a second goal for the Otters with an unassisted buzzer ringer, while Kolstad got the Fergus girls within one with a power play goal with assists from Annie Magnusson and Sydney Kuehl.
Moorhead was in shock at the beginning of the third, but did not falter as Davis would add her second goal of the evening. The Otters continued to fight as Kolstad punched in a pass from Kuehl, but Davis would follow late in the period with her hat trick goal and Ulberg would notch her first to give the Spuds the victory.
“Drechsel and Alberg have some skill,” Otter coach Matt Koalska said. “We tried to slow them down, but they took advantage of a few lapses on our end. We played tough, but we just didn’t see the goals on the scoreboard.”
Moorhead’s Beth Myers and Brianna Storms combined for 35 saves in net, while Jordie Salwei finished with 27 saves for the Otters.
The Otters will be back at the friendly confines of the Fergus Falls Community Ice Arena Saturday as they host Thief River Falls in a 3 p.m. match up.
