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Becker lifts Cardinals hockey to win in shootout

BENSON — Just one flick of her wrist and Joni Becker propelled the Fairmont Area Cardinals girls hockey team into the finals of the four-team Morris/Benson Area Holiday Invite on Friday.

Becker scored the game-winning goal from the fifth spot in a shootout to steer Fairmont Area to a victory over the Prairie Centre Blue Devils after ending both regulation and overtime tied at 3-all during first-round tournament action in Benson.

Fairmont Area (3-8-1) plays Litchfield/Dassel-Cokato (9-3-1) in an 11 a.m. championship game today in Benson. The game was originally set for 5 p.m., but was moved up due to impending inclement weather. The Dragons downed host Morris/Benson Area, 8-0, on Friday.

Tied at 2-all in the shootout after Cardinals goaltender Hadley Artz had stopped the Blue Devils’ fifth skater, Becker flipped a wrister over Prairie Centre netminder Kennedy Lemke’s shoulder and into the left top shelf to ice the win.

Emily Sokoloski staked Fairmont Area to a 1-0 edge in the shootout from the first spot before Savannah Lowe countered for Prairie Centre. Macy Militello then converted for the Cardinals out of the No. 2 spot before Shelby Otte answered for the Blue Devils. Both teams’ next two skaters were stopped before Becker’s final turn.

Mackenzie Householder delivered an unassisted first-period goal for Fairmont Area, which trailed 3-1 heading into the second segment. Jayda Healey produced another unassisted goal for the Cardinals during the second frame before Householder cashed in a double-assist from Brooklyn Meyer and Militello with 3:45 remaining in the middle period to knot the score at 3-all.

Neither Fairmont Area nor Prairie Centre scored during the third period or 8-minute overtime to force the shootout showdown.

Megan Och staked the Blue Devils to a 1-0 lead by converting Otte’s assist with 7:53 left in the opening frame before Kyra Swanson cashed in a double-pass from Nora Elmes and Kayla Sayovitz for a two-goal lead only 1:27 later in the first.

Householder sliced the Cardinals’ deficit in half by finding the net with a solo blast with 3:15 to go in the first period before Otte answered only 48 seconds later by converting Robyn Gierke pass into a goal.

Healey whittled Fairmont Area’s gap to 3-2 with an unassisted tally with 6:27 to go in the second before Householder delivered the equalizer off a passes from Meyer and Militello at the 3:45 mark of the middle segment.

Artz made 13 saves between the pipes to net the win for Fairmont Area, while Lemke recorded a game-best 42 stops for Prairie Centre.

Boys Hockey

Morris/Benson Area 6, Fairmont Area 1 — Matthew Tolifson netted two goals to help power the host Storm to a five-goal first-round victory over the Cardinals during the Morris/Benson Area Invitational on Friday in Benson.

Fairmont Area (2-7) faces Prairie Centre, who dropped a 4-2 decision to MayPort (ND), in today’s third-place game in Benson.

The host Storm (8-1-1) square off against MayPort in today’s championship contest.

Cardinals starting goaltender Carsen Musser turned away an incredible 58 of the 63 shots he faced between the pipes, while teammate Tyson Geerdes made 11 stops on the dozen shots he faced in relief.

The Storm utilized their 75-13 shots-on-goal advantage to build a 5-0 lead through two periods before Thomas Claeys spoiled MBA netminder Chase Engebretson’s shutout bid with 1:20 remaining in the second frame. Claeys converted Carson Kuhl’s assist into Fairmont Area’s only point on the night.

Zach Bruns, Ryan Tolifson and Jack Riley each contributed one goal and one assist to the Storm’s offensive outburst, while Zander Hoffman chipped in the game’s initial goal. Brady DeHaan doled out two assists for MBA, while Hunter Blume, Tyler Buss, Kaleb Breuer and Brady Goff added one helper apiece.

Engebretson made a dozen saves to net the win between the pipes for MBA.

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