The Warriors got off to a fast start, taking a 3-1 lead after one period of play.  They scored just 1:57 into the game when Martin Timmons put the puck in the net with assists from Kalvin Stengrim and Cayden Kleffman.  They made it 2-0 at 9:59 on an Alex Jones goal from Holden Larson.  Fergus Falls cut the lead in half 20 seconds later when Cole Zierden and Isaac Johnson assisted on a Carter Thielke goal.  Jones closed out the first period scoring with his second goal of the night, assisted by Larson and Kleffman.

A power play goal twelve seconds into the second period by Michael DeBrito, was setup by Isaac Johnson and brought the Otters to within one goal at 3-2.  Thielke’s second of the night at 6:14 was assisted by Zierden and Owen Babolian, tying the game at 3-3.  The Otters gained a one goal advantage at 14:51 when Thielke completed his hat trick with assists from Kellen Stenstrom and DeBrito.

The only goal of the third period proved to be the equalizer at 8:55 when Larson scored from Kleffman.

At 1:41 of overtime John Finnegan notched the game winner, assisted by Landon Machcow.

Fergus Falls put 38 shots on the Brainerd net, but Brody Lund turned away 34 of them.  Otter goalie Ben Swanson stopped 25 of the 30 shots he faced.

“Lost a tough one in OT,” acknowledged Fergus Falls Head Coach Mike Donaghue.  “Carter Thielke had a great game, scoring a hat trick and was making plays all night, pressuring the puck.  DeBrito sent Thielke in on a breakaway with about three minutes left.  He made a great move, but the puck just did not find the back of the net.  Brainerd did a good job of finding open areas in front of our net and getting pucks to their open guys and they were able to finish their plays better than us tonight.”

Fergus Falls (5-1) will be on the road this weekend with a game at Rochester Century on Friday night and at Owatonna on Saturday afternoon.