Laker Boys Hockey Falls to Fergus Falls in Holiday Classic Championship

FERGUS FALLS (KDLM) – The Laker boys hockey team fell to the Fergus Falls Otters in the Holiday Classic championship game 5-1 on Thursday evening. The Lakers gave up two goals in the first two periods and could not build on a late goal in the second. The Otters capped off the win with an empty netter in the final five minutes to avenge a loss they suffered in the season’s first game against the Lakers.

The Otters came out of the gates with an aggressive forecheck pressing Detroit Lakes in their defensive zone. The Otters used a very conventional approach of dump and chase, keeping the puck below the circles in the Lakers’ defensive zone. The Laker defense was tested and struggled with the pressure. The Lakers were playing without one of their top defenders as Tommy Suckert missed another game after sustaining an injury against Morris-Benson on December 20th.

The Otters scored the game’s first goal when Jax Katzenmeyer found the back of the net at 4:37 of the first period. The Otters scored the second goal with just under four minutes remaining in the first period when Joey Johnson scored an even-strength goal to give the Otters a 2-0 lead into the first intermission.

Detroit Lakes came out with speed and intensity after the break, but Fergus Falls weathered the initial flurry, and the Otters scored 54 seconds into the period when Jack Welde scored. The Otters struck again at the 4:16 mark when senior defenseman Colin Becker wristed the puck past Laker goalie Josh Mack on a powerplay to make the score 4-0. The Lakers finished the second period with their own goal when Aiden Kennedy beat the Otters’ experienced goalie Ben Swanson top shelf on a 2-1 opportunity to break the shutout. The teams went into the second intermission with the score at 4-1.

Despite being up by three goals entering the third period, the Otters were relentless with their pressure entering the third. The Lakers had a powerplay opportunity late in the game but could not take advantage. The Otters capped the game off with a late empty net goal when Ethan McGuiness scored with two minutes remaining to ensure victory for the Otters.

The Otters outshot Detroit Lakes 26-22. The Otters improve their record to 5-2-1 overall and win the Holiday Classic. Detroit Lakes won the tournament last year against the Otters.

The Lakers, who had yet to lose a game since November 29th, saw their record drop to 8-2-1. The Lakers will return to action on Tuesday, January 3rd, when they host the Wadena-Deer Creek Wolverines. The Wolverines pulled off an upset on Thursday, defeating the Little Falls Flyers for the first time in 19 years.

KDLM will broadcast the game on Tuesday against the Wolverines, with pregame coverage beginning at 6:40 pm.

DL scoring: Aiden Kennedy (7th goal of the season) assist to Jace Fields (14th assist of the season.

Box Score
DL 0 0 0
FF 2 2 1