Fairmont Area nets 3rd consecutive hockey win

Dec 28, 2023

Jan 9, 2023

BACK-TO-BACK GOALS — Fairmont Area's Nate Rakness (front right) skates off the Martin County Arena ice on Saturday after scoring his second goal against Redwood Valley in Fairmont. Cardinal teammates Jace Teveldal (left) and Beau Becker flank Rakness during the exit. (Photo by Greg Abel)

FAIRMONT — Fairmont Area's boys hockey team continued to literally ring in the new year in style during "Hockey Day" at Martin County Arena.

Luke Kester opened Fairmont Area's scoring by making the pipes peal with a goal, while teammate Nate Rakness duplicated the metal acoustics with one of his two third-period goals to cap a 6-2 Big South Conference victory over Redwood Valley on Saturday afternoon.

Fairmont Area proved a model of consistency by netting two goals in all three 17-minute segments, with Rakness, Kester, Jace Teveldal and Brock Lutterman each producing multi-point performances in Fairmont.

"We’ve finally figured out our lines and that's the difference during the past three games," said Rakness, who tops the hometown Cardinals with nine goals to complement five assists in nine games this season.

"We’ve won three in a row now," Fairmont Area head coach Dylan VanBrocklin said in reference to his lineup's 4-3 decision over Mora/Milaca on Dec. 29 and a 10-4 rout of Worthington on Thursday night.

"Hmmm … that's when we made changes to our lines," VanBrocklin added with a grin.

Kester, who generated two points on the game, converted a double-assist from Teveldal and Rakness into a scorched rising liner that dinged the right pipe and nestled into the net for a 1-0 lead with 5:38 remaining in the opening period.

It took less than a minute for Fairmont Area to double its lead when Lutterman hammered a shot from the point that beat a sliding Redwood Valley goalie Camden Cilek. Hartley Aust netted the assist on the goal at the 4:46 mark.

Redwood Valley, however, sliced the gap to 2-1 during the early stages of the second period. Kooper Johnson, who also plays between the pipes, displayed his offensive skills by blasting a right-to-left shot from a 45-degree angle to find the left-corner webbing at the 13:10 juncture.

Teveldal, however, restored Fairmont Area's two-goal cushion by slapping home a twine-finder from the point off a Kester assist for a 3-1 edge with 6:47 left in the middle frame.

Mathew Cone then delivered a power-play goal for the hometown Cardinals by alertly tapping home a rebound just inside the left post for a 4-1 margin with 5 minutes left in the second. Kaiden Musser unleashed a shot at Camden Cilek, who deflected the puck, but Cone was in the perfect spot to jam home the carom. Lutterman also recorded an assist on the play.

Rakness then put the game in the books by drilling back-to-back goals during the third period. Rakness picked off a Redwood Valley clearing pass and hammered a left-wing laser that rang the pipe before finding twine at the 14:38 mark.

Rakness then needed only 35 seconds to convert Tyler Kurt's pass into his second goal of the contest to extend Fairmont Area's lead to 6-1.

Redwood Valley's Erik Rasmussen concluded the game's point production by chipping in the rebound off of teammate Easton Sandgren's initial shot with 3:51 to go in the game.

Carson Johnson produced 17 saves between the pipes to garner the win for Fairmont Area, while Camden Cilek amassed a game-best 48 stops for Redwood Valley.

Fairmont Area (3-6) travels to Le Sueur on Tuesday night to play conference opponent Minnesota River at 7 p.m.

Redwood Valley (0-9) plays host to Minnesota River tonight in a rescheduled game.

Red. Valley 0-1-1–2

Fairmont 2-2-2–6

Scoring Plays

1st Period

FMT–Luke Kester (Jace Tevedal, Nate Rakness), 5:38.

FMT–Brock Lutterman (Hartley Aust), 4:46.

2nd Period

RV–Kooper Johnson (unassisted), 13:10.

FMT–Jace Teveldal (Luke Kester), 6:47.

FMT–Mathew Cone (Kaiden Musser, Brock Lutterman), PP., 5:00.

3rd Period

FMT–Nate Rakness (unassisted), 14:38.

FMT–Nate Rakness (Tyler Kurt), 14:03.

RV–Erik Rasmussen (Easton Sandgren), PP., 3:51.

Shots on goal: Fairmont Area 18-20-16–54; Redwood Valley 5-7-7–19.

Saves: Camden Cilek (RV) 48; Carson Johnson (FMT) 17.

Penalties: Redwood Valley 5 of 10 minutes; Fairmont Area 1 for 5 minutes.

Power-play chances: Fairmont Area 1-for-4; Redwood Valley 1-for-1.

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