Alexandria boys' hockey: State-ranked Spuds stifle Cardinals 8-4

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Moorhead showed why it’s ranked No. 14 in the Class AA polls Tuesday night, rolling over Alexandria 8-4 in the season opener for the Cardinals.

“The Spuds showed skating and passing skills that put Alex on its heels early on,” said Cardinal head coach Scott Woods.

Moorhead dominated early, scoring four goals in the first period and added two more to start the second before allowing the Cardinals on the board.

“The Cardinals could have checked out at that point, but started to show some character,” said Woods. “Toby Helgeson and Tom Schmidt scored, with assists going to Patrick Leary and Matt Resch.”

Alexandria added two more goals to start the third to cut their deficit to two.

“The third period showed some promise as Helgeson scored again, followed by Ryan Marciniak with his first varsity goal,” said the coach. “With the score 6-4, things were looking up.

“Unfortunately, Moorhead would score two more times to win the game 8-4.

“This will be one of the best teams the Cards will face all year,” he added. “A young team, with only four seniors in the lineup, gained some valuable experience.

Goalie Ben Allen was exceptionally busy as he deflected 46 of the 54 shots fired at him by the Spuds. Alexandria had 18 shots on goal for the night.

The Cardinals hosted Sauk Centre last night, Thursday, and will host Sartell on Tuesday.

GAME STATISTICS

MOORHEAD 4 2 2 — 8

ALEXANDRIA 0 2 2 — 4

FIRST PERIOD

MHD – Leif Johnson (Nick Paulson, John O’Connor) 7:11, MHD – Nicholas Uglem (Tony Uglem, Austin Skjefte) 8:03, MHD – Austin Skjefte (Tony Uglem, Nicholas Uglem) 8:39, MHD – Tony Uglem (John O’Connor) 14:11.

SECOND PERIOD

MHD – John O’Connor (Aaron Herdt, Thomas Carey) 4:31, MHD – Nick Paulson (unassisted) 5:33, ALEX – Toby Helgeson (Patrick Leary) 6:46, ALEX – Tom Schmidt (Matt Resch) 16:35.

THIRD PERIOD

ALEX – Toby Helgeson (Brady Bast) 1:20, ALEX – Ryan Marciniak (Levi McFarlane) 2:03, MHD – Grant Weiss (Aaron Herdt) 6:22, MHD – Tony Uglem (Will Borgen) 7:22.

SHOTS ON GOAL – Moorhead 19-17-18—54, Alexandria 6-10-2—18.

GOALIE SAVES – Peter McFarlane, Moorhead, 14; Ben Allen, Alexandria, 46.

POWER PLAYS – Moorhead 0-5, Alexandria 0-1.

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