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Tigers claw Cardinals in girls hockey opener

FAIRMONT — Fairmont Area forward Brooklyn Meyer scored the only goal of the opening period, while teammate Hadley Artz made eight saves — including three against the power play — to keep Albert Lea off the scoreboard during her debut between the pipes Tuesday night.

Unfortunately for the hometown Cardinals, it took the Tigers’ forward tandem of Josie Venem and Katie Steven a little more than 21 minutes to shake off a bout of bus lag and lock on target during the middle segment.

Venem produced back-to-back goals during the final 3:03 of regulation to complete a hat trick, while Steven and Mia Fjelsta supplied one goal and one assist apiece to power Albert Lea to a 7-1 season-opening non-league hockey win over Fairmont Area at Martin County Arena.

“Hadley came up with a number of huge saves for us in the first period,” Fairmont Area head coach Ashley Olson said in reference to her eighth-grade goalie, who finished with a game-best 28 saves. “Overall, she played three solid periods.

“As a team, we have to skate hard and play strong for all three periods. We came out aggressive in the opening period, but went a bit flat to start the second.”

Artz deflected Steven’s steal-turned-wrister off a left-wing rush at the 15:23 juncture of the first frame to keep the Tigers at bay early in both teams’ opener before Meyer connected for the Cardinals’ only goal of the night.

Joni Becker battled behind the cage for control of the puck before eventually centering a pass to Meyer, who chipped home the goal inside the right post from the doorstep for a 1-0 lead at the 11:07 juncture.

Artz then used her blocker pads to deny Fjelsta’s low line-drive blast from the left point during Albert Lea’s second power-play chance of the first period to maintain her shutout bid with 4:20 to go.

The Tigers, however, pounced early and often to trigger a three-goal second segment. Adison Malakowsky drilled a shot from the point that Artz deflected only to have Alli Dulitz tap home the carom inside the left pipe to the equalizer just 1:27 into the middle period.

Steven then pick-pocketed a Fairmont Area defender along the left-hand boards, rushed the left wing and flipped a cross-over shot over Artz’s shoulder for a 2-1 edge at the 12:36 mark.

Venem then tallied the first of her three goals via the power play to extend the Tigers’ lead to 3-1 at the 9:30 juncture. Steven drilled the initial shot off of Artz’s pads before Venem collected the low-skidding rebound along the right side for the putback goal. Rylee Bjorklund also netted an assist on the play by feeding Steven during the sequence.

Fjelsta then finished what she started — a 2-on-1 breakaway chance — to open the scoring during the third period. Fjelsta spotted Dulitz in neutral ice along the right wing. Dulitz unleashed a shot at Artz, who knocked the puck away. Fjelsta, however, stuffed home the putback inside the left pipe for a 4-1 lead with 15:28 left in regulation.

Fjelsta later delivered a perfect centering pass from the right wing to Lucy Stay for the backhand chip-in from the left doorstep with 9:21 to go.

Becker, Meyer and Mackenzie Householder combined to erupt for six shots on goal during a six-minute sequence late in the third period, but Fairmont Area could not beat Albert Lea goalie Maddie Schneider on any of the offensive opportunities. Schneider finished with 20 saves to net the win.

Venem then struck on back-to-back unassisted scores during the final 3:03 of regulation to complete her hat trick. Venem pocketed a steal behind the net and squeezed in a low wraparound goal on the power play for a 6-1 margin before capping an end-to-end right-wing rush with her third goal with only 10 seconds to go.

“We’ve got to cut down on our penalties, and work on our penalty kill,” said Olson.

Fairmont Area (0-1) faces Mankato East at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at All Seasons Arena in Mankato, while Albert Lea (1-0) squares off against Mankato West at 7:15 p.m. Thursday at All Seasons Arena.

Albert Lea 0-3-4–7

Fairmont 1-0-0–1

Scoring Plays

1st Period

FA–Brooklyn Meyer (Joni Becker), 11:07.

2nd Period

AL–Alli Dulitz (Adison Malakowsky), 15:33.

AL–Katie Steven (unassisted), 12:36.

AL–Josie Venem (Steven, Rylee Bjorklund), pp., 9:30.

3rd Period

AL–Mia Fjelsta (Dulitz), 15:28.

AL–Lucy Stay (Fjelsta), 9:21.

AL–Venem (unassisted), pp., 3:03.

AL–Venem (unassisted), 0:10.

Shots on goal: Albert Lea 8-9-18–35; Fairmont Area 4-9-7–20.

Saves: Hadley Artz (FA) 8-6-14–28; Maddie Schneider (AL) 3-9-7–19.

Penalties: Fairmont Area 6 for 12 minutes; Albert Lea 4 for 8 minutes. Power-play chances: Albert Lea 2 for 5; Fairmont Area 0 for 3.

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