In the first shift of the first period, I noticed a skater on the Raiders. She was number 7, Gabby Krause. She picked up a loose puck in her own zone and took it end to end. She exhibited speed, skill and a wicked shot. All within the first 15 seconds of the game.

The first period flew by, with only a whistle or two the first period was over. Both teams had a few chances, but no serious scores oppotunites. 

Early in the second, Krause got a loose puck behind the Farmington defense and got in all alone. She fired a hard wrist shot over the shoulder of Farmington goalie Danielle Dollarheide to give the Raiders a 1-0 lead. No assist was given on the goal. This writer would give it a team assist. The Raiders had badgered the Tigers defensive corps all night.  Just enough to force an unecessary error in their own zone that lead to the Krause goal.

As the period wore on, Farmington began to get more and more chances, but great efforts  by Center JoHann "Jo Jo" Taylor and Margaret Grove kept Farmington off the board.  

By the end of the second Farmington had outshot Northfield 13-5 for the game. Much credit given to Northfield Goalie Margaret Malecha, who wore #15 (a sight I've never seen before). At the end of two, Northfield lead 1-0.

The third period was more of the same. Great back and forth hockey.  The 100+ fans who showed up for the game did not leave dissapointed. Both teams put on a great show. In the middle of the third, Carly Lancaster got loose on the right wing and let go of a shot that should of tied it. Her wrist shot was deflected just wide by Malecha off of her blocker at the last second.  Both fans, ooh'd and aah'd at both the wicked shot and the great save.

As teams tired, so came more great goal scoring opportunities. With less than four minutes to Dollarhide made a great save on a bang-bang passing play by Taylor to Jessica Boland. 

With a minute to go, Farmington pulled Dollarhide for an extra attacker. Each time they tried to get the puck to the net, the Raider's defense was too strong. They never let Farmington in the slot for a shot or a shot attempt. Northfield hung on to win 1-0. 

I had a blast watching two teams with small rosters give it 100% Tuesday night. Each team had a bevy of high end players to keep an eye for in the future.

Northfied: Gabby Krause (see above), JoJo Taylor - she has a great motor, made several great plays on both ends of the rink, Jessica Boland - tenacious and very smart, was always in the right place at the right time.

Farmington: The Tigers were very balanced team.  Not a weak link on their whole roster. Brenna Fuhrman played with a lot of confidence...seemed like she was making something happen every time she hit the ice. Claire Enright grew on me with every shift. She was very fast with the puck on her stick and she changed directions very well. Jayden Seifert and Carly Lancaster strike me as the girls who lead this team.  They seem to make the most rushes with the puck and created the most scoring opportunities for the Tigers.