Storm’s late rush ices penalty-plagued Cardinals
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FAIRMONT -- Fairmont Area's Bella Larson skated out of the penalty box and snuffed home the equalizer to open the third period of Friday night's non-league hockey game against Morris/Benson Area.
Larson and the penalty-plagued Cardinals, however, could not stop the Storm's lethal 1-2 icy rush of Karlie Bruns and Kortney Sanasack during the final 15:41 of regulation at Martin County Arena in Fairmont.
Bruns produced a game-leading hat trick and one helper, while Sanasack doled out a game-best four assists and chipped in one goal to power the Storm's 5-2 victory over the Cardinals.
"Way too many penalties tonight," said Fairmont Area head coach Eric Householder, whose lineup amassed 28 minutes in the penalty box via 10 infractions. "When you spend more than half of your time (a prep game last 51 minutes) in the box, it's difficult to run any offense or implement any strategy.
"We definitely have to reduce our penalties if we want to have a chance to win."
Trailing 2-0, Maia Goerndt whittled Fairmont Area's gap in half by tapping home an ice-hugging shot from the doorstep off a pass from Karissa Newville with 2:25 left in the second.
Larson was whistled for her fourth infraction of the game with 1:52 remaining in the second period, but came out of the box with a goal in mind -- the game-tying goal, that is.
"We told her (Larson) to stay focused and not pick up a fifth penalty, which is a disqualification from the game," said Householder.
Larson exited the penalty box and jammed home the tying goal amid a scrum in the crease created by Hannah Goerndt's initial shot that was blocked by MBA goalie Ava Breuer.
Bruns and Sanasack needed only 13 seconds to regain the upperhand on the scoreboard for the Storm. Sanasack filtered a pass to Bruns, who drilled a liner that trickled off Fairmont Area goaltender Hadley Artz's pads and across the line for the go-ahead goal at the 15:41 mark of the third.
Sanasack, who entered the game with eight assists and nine goals, cashed in just the Storm's second power-play goal, but it created a safe buffer for the visitors with 4:12 remaining in regulation. Sanasack chipped home a top-right shelf shot off an assist from Bruns for a 4-2 advantage.
Bruns, who had produced a team-best 41 points on the strength of 32 goals in 16 games this season, and Sanasack were not finished as the tandem produced an insurance goal exactly 1 minute later.
Bruns blasted home her third goal of the night as Sanasack threaded the puck to her from behind the cage at the 3:12 mark.
Bruns netted her first goal off a pipe-ringing wrister via a Sanasack pass for a 2-0 Storm lead at the 14:55 juncture of the second period. Sanasack set up Allison Michaelson's initital goal via the power play with just 1:05 left in the first period.
Artz generated a game-best 40 saves between the pipes for the Cardinals, while Breuer turned away 24 shots to garner the win for the Storm.
Fairmont Area (4-10-2) and Morris/Benson Area (7-10) return to Martin County Arena in Fairmont at 1 p.m. today for the second of their back-to-back non-league games.
MBA 1-1-3--5
FMT 0-1-1--2
Scoring Plays
1st Period
MBA--Allison Michaelson (Kortney Sanasack), PP., 1:05.
2nd Period
MBA--Karlie Bruns (Kortney Sanasack), 14:55.
FMT--Maia Goerndt (Karissa Newville), 2:25.
3rd Period
FMT--Bella Larson (Hannah Goerndt), 15:54.
MBA--Karlie Bruns (Kortney Sanasack), 15:41.
MBA--Kortney Sanasack (Karlie Bruns), PP., 4:12.
MBA--Karlie Bruns (Kortney Sanasack), 3:12.
Shots-on-goal: Morris/ Benson Area 9-23-13--45; Fairmont Area 6-8-12--26.
Saves: Hadley Artz (FMT) 40; Ava Breuer (MBA) 24.
Penalties: Fairmont Area 10 for 28 minutes; MBA 5 for 10 minutes.
Power-play chances: MBA 2-10; Fairmont Area 0-5.