Fortis survives Tradition Mortgage rally in 7-6 shootout thriller

The Dangle League entered its regular season stretch drive Thursday night at Braemar Arena. With high temperatures and oppressive humidity wreaking havoc across the Twin Cities metro, there was no better place to be than inside the temperature controlled confines of Braemar.

The lone Dangle League game on the schedule featured second place Fortis and fifth place Tradition Mortgage. With the standings airtight and regulation wins critical for separation, both teams arrived with plenty at stake.

Separation proved impossible as Fortis and Tradition Mortgage traded momentum throughout a wide open game filled with goals, quick transitions and end-to-end scoring chances. Fortis eventually survived a furious Tradition rally and earned a 7-6 shootout victory.

Fortis wasted little time establishing control. Maysie Koch opened the scoring just 10 seconds into the game, taking a feed from Morgan Goskeson and finishing at 29:50.

Mayme Scott doubled the lead at 28:20 from Bonnie Zhao and Ella Olsen before Taylor Risch made it 3-0 at 22:50. Angie Cody earned the assist.

While it seemed bleak for Tradition Mortgage, the team refused to let the game get away. Geni Nelson put Tradition on the board at 13:26 after taking a pass from Peyton Demuth. Libby Moe followed at 9:54, converting a setup from Reese Peroutka to pull Tradition within one.

Brooklyn Mauch briefly restored Fortis’ two-goal advantage at 6:37, with Scott and Senna Hofmann collecting the assists. Tradition answered again before the break when Stella Strothman scored a power play goal from Lauren Albrecht with just 52 seconds showing on the first half clock.

Fortis carried a 4-3 lead into the second half, but Tradition needed only 55 seconds to erase it. Allegra Kuhn scored from Moe at 29:05 to tie the game.

Emma Peroutka gave Tradition its first lead at 16:25 before Strohman struck for her second goal of the night at 9:22. Kennedy Hochbaum and Albrecht assisted on the goal, which completed a three-goal Tradition run and built a 6-4 advantage.

Fortis was down two with the clock working against it, but its response was immediate and emphatic. Risch scored her second of the game at 5:30, finishing a play created by Koch and Goskeson. Just 29 seconds later, Mauch buried her second goal of the night from Lexi Erickson, tying the game 6-6 with 5:01 remaining.

Neither team could find the deciding goal in regulation, sending the game to a shootout.

Cody delivered the only conversion of the shootout for Fortis. Alyssa Polaski held the line at the other end, denying both Tradition Mortgage attempts to secure the extra standings point.

Fortis finished with a 35-29 advantage in shots. Ilamay Draheim handled the first half in goal for Fortis before Polaski took over for the second half and shootout. Finley Engfer went the distance for Tradition Mortgage.

The victory lifted Fortis into a first place tie with Performance Office Papers at 13 points. Tradition Mortgage earned an important point and remains within reach of Twin Cities Orthopedics and MNHockeyTv entering its final regular season game next week.

Third place carries considerable value in the Dangle League playoff picture. The fourth and fifth seeds must meet in a tournament play-in game, with the winner immediately drawing the top seed.

If the remaining results fall its way, Tradition Mortgage still has a path to third place. Thursday night’s comeback and hard-earned point kept that path open.