Staff photo by Jake Olson: Fairmont sophomore forward Alexis Haycraft is challenged by a Windom defender during the first period of Monday night’s game at the Martin County Arena. Haycraft finished the night with four goals and one assist.

FAIRMONT – The Fairmont girls hockey team advanced to 2-0-1 on the season after Monday night’s 9-0 victory over Windom Area at Martin County Arena.

The Cardinals scored five goals in the first period and four more in the third to propel the win, outshooting the Eagles 62-3 while remaining aggressive on offense the entire night.

“I was very happy with the game,” head coach Aaron Haycraft said. “I thought they came out and played hard. They executed to start the game exactly how we wanted to; fast and with pressure.”

Sophomore Alexis Haycraft powered the Cardinals with four goals on the night, marking her third consecutive game with a hat trick. Also stuffing the stat sheet was sophomore Lauren Bettin, who tacked on two goals and three assists of her own. Sophomore goalkeeper Alexis Sundeen finished her evening by saving all three shots that came her way.

The objective of Aaron Haycraft and the rest of his coaching staff was to apply as much pressure to Windom’s talented goalkeeper, Fiona Robillard, who finished the game with an impressive 58 saves.

“Windom has a really strong goaltender, so we knew we would have to put a lot of pressure on her with rebounds,” Aaron Haycraft said. “Rebounds were a big part of the game plan going into tonight. We had to crash that net with a purpose.”

Coach Haycraft’s team game plan was on full display early in the first period, even at half strength. After the Cardinals gave up a penalty for too many individuals on the ice, Alexis Haycraft went right to work near the net, scoring two quick goals during Windom’s power play to take an early lead.

She displayed her passing skills less than a minute later while the Cardinals regained full strength. After gliding down the right side of the ice, the sophomore forward found Bettin right in front of the net for an easy slap shot past the glove of Robillard.

Bettin scored again with 11:40 left in the period, recovering a rebounded shot from sophomore Kynlee Beemer and putting one past the goal line for an early Fairmont 4-0 cushion.

The Cardinals struck once more in the first period of play, this time from junior Joslyn Meyer, who received a pass from London Truesdell behind the net to tack one more point on the scoreboard.

“We had to go in there [the offensive zone] with a purpose and a strong stick,” Aaron Haycraft said. “They did that tonight, and I was very proud of them.”

Despite the offensive fireworks Fairmont found early in the contest, Robillard and the rest of the Windom defensive line held the Cardinals scoreless in the second period. Robillard sniffed out all 24 shots on goal Fairmont sent her way during these 17 minutes of play, causing the score to remain 5-0 entering the third.

“She’s [Robillard] an exceptional goalie,” Aaron Haycraft said. “We’ve seen her quite a bit and knew she was really good. … “Going back to that second period of play, I am very happy with the way we played. We moved the puck well. We just didn’t put that exclamation point on the play.”

Coach Haycraft and his coaching staff challenged their team to enter the third period with the same motor and intensity found earlier in the night.

Alexis Haycraft, much like the beginning of the game, was the one to spark the Cardinal offensive attack in the first three minutes of play. The forward scored two quick goals off assists from Beemer and Meyer to give Fairmont the 7-0 advantage.

The Cardinals got two more goals with 14:06 and 5:54 left in the period from Kennedy Murphy and Mariel Parish, respectively, solidifying Fairmont’s second victory of the early season at Martin County Arena.

“In between the second and third period, we challenged them with that,” Aaron Haycraft said. “We said to come out fast and with the same intensity; everything has got to have a purpose out there. … “From a coach’s perspective, it was fantastic to see. They answered the bell on that one.”

Fairmont continues its season this Thursday with another home match against Waseca at 7 p.m.