Sometimes when it rains, it pours. Moorhead's boys hockey team is drenched right now.
Bloomington Jefferson made itself plenty of breaks and capitalized on almost every one, handing the Spuds a 4-1 loss at Moorhead Sports Center on Saturday.
Moorhead is winless in its last five games, losing four in that stretch.
"We had some breakdowns, and give them (Jefferson) credit for making us pay for them," Moorhead coach Dave Morinville said. "When you're playing a team like this, when you make a mistake it gets magnified."
The Jaguars took a 4-1 lead through the first two periods behind two goals off rebounds, one off a deflection and another off an errant clearing attempt.
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The two rebound goals - by Tyler Dietzler and Andrew Patterson - came in the first period for a comfy 2-0 lead through the first stanza.
"We haven't been scoring that much lately, so crashing the net has been a big emphasis," Jaguars coach Jeff Lindquist said. "This time of year, you want the kids making good decisions, and we did that."
Jefferson (12-4-3) went up
3-0 when a clearing attempt went right to Tim LaBombard in the high slot. He skated in and snapped one into the top shelf.
Moorhead's Braden Rahman poked in the Spuds' lone goal less than a minute after LaBombard's goal, but T.J. Gallus gave Jefferson another one before the period ended.
"It's not like they dominated us, but when they got a chance, they buried it." Morinville said. "We didn't."
During the winless streak, Moorhead has been outscored 17-6, and the offense struggled again on Saturday. The Spuds finished with 19 shots on goal, and had just 10 through the first two periods.
"We weren't doing anything special, but that's our game," Lindquist said. "We haven't given up a lot of goals, and defense is one of our strengths. This was another day at the office."
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Morinville said there is still time to right the ship, but the schedule hasn't been forgiving.
The Spuds (8-8-3) have just five games left before the playoffs - including games against Twin Cities powerhouses Centennial and Hill-Murray.
"We just need to get a good feel and get a bounce to get us going," Morinville said. "We have to keep working and make that bounce happen.
"There's still an important part of the season left."
FIRST PERIOD: 1, BJ, Dietzler (O'Donnell), 2:25. 2, BJ, Patterson (Batten, Hedlund), 11:20.
SECOND PERIOD: 3, BJ, LaBombard, 4:43. 4, M, Rahman (Kostich, Q. Buckellew), 5:25. 5, BJ, Gallus (Knight), 12:35.
THIRD PERIOD: No scoring.
SAVES: BJ, Swansson 5-4-9-18. M, Marks 8-9-x-17, Wagner x-1-6-7.
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Bloomington Jefferson 4, Moorhead 1
- The story: The Jaguars jump out to 3-0 lead and cruise to a win over the Spuds.
Readers can reach Forum sports writer Kerry Collins at (701) 241-5548.
Collins' prep sports blog can be found at www.areavoices.com
