Staff Photo by Jake Olson: Fairmont's Alexis Haycraft jostles with a Winona defender during the opening moments of Saturday afternoon's contest at Martin County Arena.

FAIRMONT – Winners of tightly contested games usually find themselves making the least amount of mistakes. On Saturday afternoon, it was Winona walking away with a 3-2 victory over the Fairmont High School girls hockey team, capitalizing on chances at the net and holding the Cardinals scoreless over the last two periods.

Fairmont outshot the Winhawks 41-10 after the first 17 minutes of play.

“I thought we played really hard and I’m proud of them,” head coach Aaron Haycraft said following the loss. “We played two really good periods but didn’t come out ready to play in the first, and that was the outcome of the game.”

Both teams were scatterbrained during the opening 17-minute span, trading puck possession and shots on goal as they tried to get a feel for the ice. Fairmont took the early advantage after a Hayln Haycraft stolen puck at mid-ice led to a long-distance score between Winona goalkeeper Kiera Rose’s leg pads.

The Winhawks answered immediately with a score of their own. Autumn Wadewitz collected possession behind the right side before slicing a pass to Kiley Pollck for an easy point in front of the net.

With 12:35 left to play in the period, the Cardinals responded with another pretty possession to take the lead. Lauren Bettin skated behind the net with her eyes glued to the middle ice, hoping to find a teammate to relay to. Luckily for her, Alexis Haycraft found a gap on the left side of the goal to punch in a score.

Despite holding the lead, Winona maintained solid puck possession in its offensive zone, peppering shots at goalkeeper Alexis Sundeen. The Winhawks finally cracked through Fairmont’s defensive line with 5:41 left to play in the period. Elle Jerowski found Bentli Boland for another swift goal to even things at the intermission.

Coach Haycraft and his staff emphasized to their team a more focused effort to control the puck going forward, as the Cardinals had just nine shots on goal after the first period. Immediately out of the gate, Fairmont dominated time of possession, with Mariel Parish, Alexis Haycraft, and Joslyn Meyer all getting great opportunities on Rose.

However, even with a 6-4 player advantage on the ice, Fairmont couldn’t string a game-leading score to push away from the Winhawks going into the final period.

“We got a lot of pucks to the net,” Aaron Haycraft said. “What cost us was our inability to rebound and finish those. There were a lot of rebounds we could have put into the net, and we didn’t do that.”

Eventually, the missed opportunities cost Fairmont 2:26 into the third period. Jerowski found Boland again for her second goal of the game, putting her team on top with just over 14 minutes remaining.

The Cardinals finished the period with a handful of great looks at the net, but again, came away without the equalizing score. Rose blocked Alexis Haycraft’s last chance at the net with nine seconds remaining, and Winona walked away with its fourth win of the early season.

Fairmont will host Luverne tonight at Martin County Arena starting at 5:30 p.m.