LIGHTING THE LAMP — Fairmont Area’s Nate Rakness (16) receives congratulations from Cardinal teammates Eli Anderson (left), Alexander Moeller (4) and Mathew Cone after Rakness netted a goal during a Section 3A play-in hockey tournament game Wednesday night at Martin County Arena in Fairmont. (Photo by Greg Abel)

FAIRMONT — Fairmont Area rebounded from a 2-1 first-period deficit with four unanswered goals to secure a Section 3A first-round playoff hockey victory as the No. 8-seeded Cardinals took down the No. 9-seeded Minnesota River Bulldogs 5-2 on Wednesday night at Martin County Arena.

Fairmont Area (9-16) advances to play No. 1-seeded New Ulm Area (19-6) at 7 p.m. tonight in a sectional quarterfinal at the New Ulm Civic Center. Minnesota River ended its season with a 5-20 overall record.

The triumph also was the third time this season that the Cardinals have scored a win against the Bulldogs, winning 8-6 in their season opener on Nov. 30 before claiming a 3-2 victory on Jan. 11.

“Both of those games were really close, so we knew they’re good,” Cardinals head coach Dylan VanBrocklin said. “If we stayed away from the penalties and played our game, then we knew we could (get the win) again.”

Although the contest started out with the Bulldogs claiming a 2-1 lead after the first period, the Cardinals returned with a dominant second frame, scoring three goals to go along with a shutout of Minnesota River for the remainder of the game.

The Cardinals also capitalized on a five-on-three power-play opportunity late in the third period, adding an insurance marker on the way to their first postseason victory since the 2019-20 season.

“We played as a team,” VanBrocklin said. “We realized in the first period that (Minnesota River) wasn’t going to roll over and give up.”

Defender Eli Anderson scored a goal and an assist for the Cardinals, as forward Hudson Artz and defender Brock Lutterman also joined in with multi-point games with a pair of assists each.

Forward Luke Kester grabbed his second goal of the season to open the scoring less than five minutes into the game, with defender Lincoln Becker scoring early on in the second to spark the three-goal period for Fairmont Area.

Forward Nate Rakness nabbed his 15th goal of the season, as fellow forward Thomas Claeys captured the lone goal of the third period on a power play to put the exclamation point on the victory.

Forwards Mason Reinhardt and Alex Schaffer were the only goal scorers for Minnesota River, as both found the back of the net in the first period. Defender Ethan Hathaway, along with forwards Brooks Reicks and Brendan O’Keefe, also got on the scoresheet for the Bulldogs with one assist apiece.

Cardinals goaltender Carson Johnson took the win as he made 24 saves on 26 opportunities, while Bulldogs goaltender Mitch Kotek claimed 35 saves on 40 shots.

“They’re a good team, but they can be beaten,” VanBrocklin said of New Ulm. “This is the same group of kids that I coached in bantams against and we beat them at the district tournament. We can do it, we’ve just got to play our game and put three full periods together.”

MN River 2-0-0–2

Fairmont 1-3-1–5

Scoring Plays

1st Period

FA–Luke Kester (Brock Lutterman), 4:33.

MR–Mason Reinhardt (Brooks Reicks, Ethan Hathaway), 6:34.

MR–Alex Schaffer (Brendan O’Keefe), PP, 12:03.

2nd Period

FA–Lincoln Becker (Brock Lutterman), 2:21.

FA–Eli Anderson (unassisted), 7:08.

FA–Nate Rakness (Eli Anderson, Hudson Artz), 14:23.

3rd Period

FA–Thomas Claeys (Hudson Artz), PP, 15:25.