Stenstrom's 6 Point Night Leads Otters Past Prairie Center in 6A Quarterfinals
Fergus Falls had 46 shots on goal Friday night as they scored 3 goals in each period in a 9-1 victory over Prairie Center in the Section 6A Quarterfinals. The North Stars had 15 shots in the game. Fergus Falls went 2-for-2 on the power play, while Prairie Center was 0-for-2 with the man advantage.
The Otters scored twice with 22 seconds of the opening period to take an early 2-0 lead. Colin Becker scored on a shot from the right point, assisted by Brayden Nelson at 5:19. Then at 5:41, Kellen Stenstrom notched his first goal of the night with Shane Zierden earning the assist. Brayden Nelson’s goal at 10:35 made it 3-0. Ethan McGuiness assisted on the tally.
Zierden’s goal at 3:50 from Stenstrom and Jack Welde pushed the lead to 4-0. At 9:36 Stenstrom scored his second of the night, assisted by Zierden and Welde. Leighton Buckmeier fired a power play goal at 12:53 with assists from Stenstrom and Welde, giving the Otters a 6-0 lead after two periods.
Ben Swanson prepares for Eli Fletcher's best shot. PHOTO by MELISSA BABOLIAN
Shane Zierden looks over his shoulder as Kellen Stenstrom buries the puck. PHOTO by MELISSA BABOLIAN
A power play goal 56 seconds into the third period by Becker increased the Fergus Falls lead to 7-0. Stenstrom and Buckmeier assisted on the goal. Michael Schmidt scored at 6:40 with assists from Nelson and Griffin Babolian and Stenstrom completed his hat trick at 8:57, assisted by Welde and Zierden. Eli Fletcher recorded his 41st goal of the season at 16:25 as the North Stars avoided the shutout. Derick Sorenson was awarded an assist.
Senior goalie Ben Swanson came up with 14 saves in the game.
Fergus Falls (13-10-2) will find out their semifinal round opponent on Saturday when Willmar plays Northern Lakes in a quarterfinal contest.
On to the 6A Semifinals. PHOTO by MELISSA BABOLIAN
