The Fergus Falls Otters Pemberton 12U B girls competed in a very competitive tournament in Blaine Jan. 6-8.
The Otters started the tournament on the sixth by facing off against Mounds View Irondale.
Brinly Shol got the Otters on the board in the first with an unassisted goal six minutes into the game. Brinley Harris doubled the lead with another unassisted goal to give Fergus a 2-0 lead. With the Otters entering period three with a lead, they added one more insurance goal to their total, finishing the game with a final score of 3-0. The final goal of the game came off the stick of Kynzie Zender.
The Otters had two games on Jan. 7. Game one took place in the morning and was against Cottage Grove.
At the end of period number one, the Otters and Cottage Grove were scoreless. Each team exchanged goals during the second period. Scoring for Fergus was Calista Fleischauer with the assist coming from Zender. In a very close, aggressive game, the Otters were tied at 1-1 entering the final period of play. However, the third period was all Otters, as they scored three goals to knock off Cottage Grove and put them into the semifinals of the tournament. Third period goals came from; Zender, unassisted, and the last two from Shol, with one of the goals being assisted by Payton Wolden.
The semifinal game was against the 8-3 Rochester Black team.
Rochester jumped ahead to an early 1-0 lead with a goal by Kennedy Stewart. The Otters failed to find the back of the net in the first period and trailed entering period number two. Zender hit the equalizer midway through the game to even it up at one a piece. Harris gave the Otters the first lead of the night with less than four minutes remaining in the second. Harris’ goal was assisted by Shol. The Otters doubled their lead with another second period goal as Zender assisted Shol to extend the score to 3-1. However, Stewart cut the lead in half as she finished the period with her second goal of the evening. Harris and Zender each scored again in the third period to cap off a 5-2 victory. Harris was assisted by Breeynn Hill and Zender was assisted by Shol and Harris.
Fergus entered the championship game on Jan. 8 against White Bear Lake with a 20 game win streak. The Otters jumped to an early 1-0 lead as Shol scored the lone goal of the period. White Bear Lake answered right back early in the second period to tie it up at 1-1. Harris gave the Otters their second lead of the night as she scored, unassisted, to take the lead back at 2-1. The only goal in period three was off the stick of Isla Chase for White Bear Lake, resulting in a 2-2 tie at the end of regulation.
Overtime was a four minute period and was 4 on 4. As both teams battled back-and-forth, the overtime period ended scoreless. After overtime ended, the game was decided in a shootout. Both the Otters and White Bear Lake started out scoring their first goals in the shootout. However, Fergus missed their next two shots and White Bear Lake scored both of theirs. The Otters came up just short as they fell to White Bear Lake via a shootout. It was a good game and a great tournament for the Otters as they took home the second place trophy. Goalie Jordynn Anderson was in net.
The Otters play again Jan. 14, at home against Moorhead.