TCO Rallies Past Fortis in Braemar South Arena Return

EDINA, Minn. — The newly renovated Braemar South Arena welcomed the Dangle League back to action Tuesday night, providing a fresh setting for a crisp, competitive matchup between Fortis and Twin Cities Orthopedics.

The arena reopened with a new refrigeration system, boards, glass and lighting, while the overwhelming collection of championship banners was removed from the ceiling during the renovation and they have not been returned much to the delight of the viewing faithful on MNHockeyTv and LiveBarn, providing a clear sight line to the surface.

Fortis entered the night holding a two point lead atop the five team league, while fourth place TCO sat five points off the pace. Those standings tightened after TCO erased an early two goal deficit and defeated Fortis 3-2.

As is the case in most Fortis contests, they wasted little time grabbing control.With 19:15 remaining in the first half, Brooklyn Mauch collected a long outlet pass from Norah Kratz and used her breakaway speed to race through center ice. Mauch snapped a laser high past TCO goaltender Allie Callinan for her fourth goal of the season. Bonnie Zhao earned the second assist, increasing her league leading point total to nine.

Fortis doubled its advantage just 90 seconds later. Kratz sent a shot toward the net from high in the zone and Maysie Koch redirected it past Callinan with 17:45 showing on the clock. It was Koch’s first goal of the season, with Morgan Goskeson collecting the second assist.

TCO’s response came quickly and decisively though.  Evelyn Lundeen entered the Fortis zone at full speed before feeding Katie Zakrajscheck near the right circle. Zakrajscheck hammered the puck past Alyssa Polaski with 15:20 remaining in the half, cutting the deficit to 2-1.

Scoring against Polaski has been no small achievement this summer. The Fortis goaltender entered the game having allowed only three goals across her first five appearances.

Zakrajscheck struck again with 13:55 remaining, finishing a setup from Marian Omann and Callie Arthur to complete TCO’s comeback and send the teams into the second half tied at two.

The decisive play came with 20:50 remaining in the second half. Mali Carlson picked the pocket of the Fortis defense and converted the unassisted opportunity for her first goal of the season, giving TCO its third unanswered goal and a 3-2 lead.

Callinan made it stand despite sustained Fortis pressure. Fortis finished with a 33-19 advantage in shots, including a 17-9 edge during the second half, but Callinan stopped 31 shots to secure the victory. Polaski turned aside 16 of the 19 shots she faced.

Zakrajscheck’s two goal performance gave her five for the season, tying Allie DeFauw for the Dangle League lead.

The game featured a level of pace and compete that hockey fans across the State of Hockey would have appreciated, an impressive showcase for a summer league assembled from many of Minnesota’s best high school girls’ hockey players.

With the victory, TCO improved to 3-3 and moved into a second place tie with MNHockeyTv at nine points. Both teams now sit just two points behind first place Fortis, while MNHockeyTv holds two games in hand.