Staff Photo by Jake Olson: Fairmont boys hockey goaltender Brandon Hector prepares for a shot near the net during the opening minutes of the second period against Worthngton at Martin County Arena. Hector finished his outing with 25 saves as the Cardinals earned an 11-6 victory.

FAIRMONT – It all started in the second period.

After 17 minutes of play between the Fairmont boys hockey team and Worthington, the Cardinals found themselves tied with their opponent 2-2, despite generating five more shots on goal and controlling possession for most of the period.

“We have to get our stuff going here,” Fairmont co-head coach Scott Nus said to his team at intermission. “You’re giving these guys a lot of momentum. We scored one goal and just freaked out and got excited. This might be your last home game, we have to do a little bit better.”

The Cardinals responded with the urgency and intensity Nuss preached in the locker room, scoring eight goals in the second period en route to an 11-6 victory on Tuesday night at Martin County Arena.

Gavin Kester powered Fairmont with five goals scattered throughout the first two periods. Five other Cardinals hit the scoring column. Goaltender Brandon Hector notched 25 saves on the night.

“It was nice to have senior night and get a win,” Nuss said. “Good for them to have maybe their last home game, we don’t know how the playoffs will work. If this was their last home game, it was really cool having a fun game with family and friends.”

The scoring barrage began immediately in the opening minute of period two, as Fairmont continued to press their offense deep past Worthington’s blue line. Klay Beemer was the recipient of the first score with Preston Cepress on the assist.

It only took five minutes to extend the lead further for the Cardinals.

Axel Chapman ripped a shot towards a swarm of white jerseys at the net in hopes of creating a scoring chance. The puck wiggled its way through Trojan defenders before deflecting off Lucas Kotewa for another score. Twenty seconds later Preston Geerdes sliced into the net from the right side before flicking a shot under the watch of goaltender Trey Milbrath.

Momentum kept surging with a nifty play from Kester to earn his hat trick with nine minutes in the period. After sliding up and down the right sideline, a pass to Logan Madsen found its way back to Kester with a head of steam towards the net, flicking the puck in for his third goal of the night.

Less than a minute later it was Hunter Olson getting his name on the board with a breakaway score from the right side. A pass from Cepress to Kester during a short-handed possession extended the Fairmont lead to 8-2 with six minutes to play in the period.

Worthington and Fairmont traded goals the rest of the period before the buzzer. The Trojans headed into intermission with a 10-5 deficit after a last second strike from Hunter Heitkamp.

Caden Wickert capped off the night for Fairmont with three minutes to play in the final period. After peppering Milbrath at the net with multiple looks, Wickert forced the puck in after getting a pass from Macklain Anderson.

Fairmont’s first two goals of the game came from Kester in the opening period.

The initial strike came off a relentless effort from the senior, crowding the net with the puck before pushing the game’s first goal into the back of the net. Kester gave the Cardinals the equalizing shot with two minutes to play before intermission.

During a power play, Fairmont garnered a handful of good looks at the net with no success. Fruition came when a shot from Chapman bounced off the post and fell into the stick of Kester for a quick one timer.

Fairmont (6-10) will travel to Le Sueur Arena this Thursday to take on Minnesota River starting at 7 p.m.