Alexandria boys' hockey: Cardinals can't stop state-ranked Little Falls

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Alexandria scored the first goal of the night, and things looked good early as the Cardinals faced section rival Little Falls Tuesday night, but a strong showing by the Flyers in the second period doused the fire and Little Falls went on to a 3-1 win.

“The puck was in the Flyers’ end a good portion of the [first] period,” said Cardinal head coach Scott Woods. “Halfway through the period, Ryan Marciniak scored to take the lead 1-0.”

Little Falls shook off that goal, scoring twice in the second period – once on the power play and once at even strength for a 2-1 lead.

“Down 2-1 heading into the third, Alexandria wasn’t ready to give this one to the No. 10 ranked and undefeated Flyers,” said Woods. “Both teams had quality scoring opportunities.”

With less than a minute remaining, goalie Ben Allen came out of the game to give Alexandria an extra attacker and leaving the net empty.

“Several times the puck nearly found the back of the net,” said the Redbird coach. “However, Little Falls was able to score an open net goal with just two seconds remaining.

“The team showed tonight that they are capable of playing and beating the preseason favorite in the section,” he added. “It will be a great battle in late January at the RCC in Alexandria.”

Alexandria hosted Willmar last night, Thursday, and will be at St. Cloud Cathedral tomorrow, Saturday. Tuesday, the team will host St. Cloud Apollo.

LITTLE FALLS 3, ALEXANDRIA 1

ALEXANDRIA 1 0 0 — 1

LITTLE FALLS 0 2 1 — 3

FIRST PERIOD

ALEX – Ryan Marciniak (unassisted) 10:40.

SECOND PERIOD

LF – Ben Newman, pp (Luke Majerle, Matthew Stumpf) 3:33, LF – Taylor Drager (Matthew Stumpf) 9:21.

THIRD PERIOD

LF – Luke Majerle, en (unassisted) 16:58.

SHOTS ON GOAL – Alexandria 14-6-12—32, Little Falls 9-9-11—29.

GOALIE SAVES – Ben Allen, Alex, 26; Michael Stumpf, LF, 31.

Tags: alexandria sports, sports, cardinals, boys, hockey, little, falls