Staff photo by Jake Olson: Fairmont's Preston Cepress slaps the puck during the first period of Thursday night's contest against Windom at Martin County Arena.

FAIRMONT – Strong defense and consistency at the net fueled a 4-2 Fairmont boys hockey win over Windom Area on Thursday night at Martin County Arena, snapping the mini two-game skid and improving the Cardinals’ record to 5-7 on the season.

Fairmont slightly outshot the Eagles by four at the end of the final period. It was the execution in each attempt that proved to be the tipping point in this result, as the Cardinals scored at least one goal in each period to fend off a late rally from Windom Area.

“We have to play a good game to beat them,” Fairmont head coach Paul Carlson said. “Windom played hard and very aggressively. They gave us a good game.”

Three Windom Area penalties in the first seven minutes gave Fairmont multiple chances to take advantage of fewer men on the ice.

The Cardinals finally snuck one past Windom Area goalkeeper Kole Espenson just under nine minutes into the first period. A fast shot from Klay Beemer on the right side of the ice trickled under the padding of Espenson, finding its way into the stick of Caleb Meyer to notch the first score of the night.

A short-handed Fairmont added one more to the scoring column after taking advantage of an Eagle mishap at center ice. Preston Geerdes’ puck touch found its way to Gavin Kester in transition, screaming past Windom Area’s back line with only Espenson in between him and the net.

Kester weaved in and out before punching the puck past the line to double Fairmont’s edge with under six minutes to play in the period.

Windom Area cut their deficit to one after a quick strike two minutes later, as a pass from Jonah Lohse found its way to Daniel Staples on the right side of the ice. The freshman capitalized on the opportunity, striking the puck quickly and finding the net for his first of two scores.

The opening portion of the second period found both offenses unable to generate consistent looks at the net. Preston Cepress ended the drought with Fairmont’s final breakaway score of the night with just under nine minutes remaining.

While again short-handed, Cepress took control of the puck at center ice past the outer shell of Windom Area’s power play formation. Slicing in from the left side of the ice, the junior carefully maneuvered his shot into the upper portion of the net before jumping towards the glass in celebration with the Fairmont faithful.

“We would like to get into the habit of scoring more 5-on-5 goals than short-handed goals,” Carlson said jokingly. “Sometimes in a game like this that’s tight, you have to take them when you can.”

Cardinal goalkeeper Brandon Hector continued his stellar night in front of the net with a complete shutout in the second period.

The Eagles’ offensive attack began to swell late before the second intermission. Hector’s presence stopped any and all Windom Area hopes of drawing into Fairmont’s cushion, as the netminder collected his 15th save of the night before going into the third period.

“Brandon is pretty much having to play goalie all the time with our other goalie being injured,” Fairmont head coach Scott Nuss said. “Currently, he’s the only goalie we have.”

“He had a great game,” Carlson said. “Kept us in it and gave us a chance all the way through, really.”

The Eagles’ offensive aggression remained consistent in the first half of the final period, peppering shots toward Hector in hopes of slipping one past the senior goalie.

Their hopes seemed to become reality after a puck flew past a handful of white jerseys and into the net with 5:38 to play. However, the referee crew called a high-sticking penalty before the shot, taking away the goal and giving the Cardinals an advantage on the power play.

Even with Fairmont unable to take advantage of the short-handed Windom Area defense, momentum began to shift towards that side of the ice. The Cardinals finally broke through with just over three minutes to play.

Macklain Anderson fired a shot from the right side into a muddled net with both blue and white jerseys mingling in the middle. The puck found its way right into the stick of Klay Beemer, deflecting perfectly past the padding of Espenson to give Fairmont the 4-1 lead.

“That’s what we try to do in practice. We don’t always get it in a game, so to see it happen in a game was just very exciting,” Carlson said.

Windom Area made things interesting with a response of their own with under two minutes to play. Staples took advantage of the Eagles’ goalie pull for his second strike of the night to make it a two-score game.

Hector and the rest of Fairmont’s defense bundled down for the final minute and change of the contest, not allowing another score to solidify its fifth win of the season. Hector finished his night with 26 saves, 11 of those coming in the final period.

Fairmont (5-7) will host Luverne at Martin County Arena next Tuesday, starting at 7 p.m.