Owatonna Boys’ Hockey Wins Playoff Opener
Owatonna edged Farmington 3-2 in the quarterfinal round of the Section 1AA boys' hockey playoffs Thursday night at the Four Seasons Centre in Owatonna. The Huskies advance to the semifinals at 5:30PM Saturday, February 24 against top-seed Lakeville North at the Rec Center in Rochester with coverage on Kat Kountry 105FM.
The fourth-seeded Huskies jumped out to a 2-0 first period lead with a pair of goals just 44 seconds apart. Collin Pederson scored at 13:04 with an assist from Tyler Wencl. Walker Nelson added the second goal at 13:48 with assists from Nick Smith and Mason Oland.
Fifth-seed Farmington netted a short-handed goal about ten minutes into the second period and tied the game on the power play in the opening minute of the third period. OHS got the game winner from Wencl at 3:38 on the power play with Jacob Stoykovich and Smith assisting. The Tigers outshot Owatonna 23-17, but Zach Wiese made 21 saves for the win.
Owatonna (13-11-2) lost to North in the semifinals last season. The No. 1 seed Panthers (14-10-2) pulled away from Hastings Thursday for a 6-2 win after the game was tied 0-0 after the first period.
In the other Section 1AA quarterfinals, No. 3 seed Lakeville South survived a double-overtime battle with No. 6 seed Mayo 3-2 and No. 2 Rochester Century blanked No. 7 John Marshall 8-0. The Cougars and Panthers are schedule to meet at 8PM Saturday. The section championship game is Thursday, March 1 at 7PM at the Rec Center.
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