Tradition Mortgage storms back to defeat Twin Cities Orthopedics 5-3

Twin Cities Orthopedics controlled the opening half, but Tradition Mortgage owned the second and rallied from a two-goal deficit for a 5-3 victory Tuesday night.

TCO came out flying and grabbed the lead with 24:30 remaining in the first half. Katie Zakrajscheck moved the puck to Alexandra Christian, who attacked the middle of the ice and finished the play for her first goal of the season off the rush.

Marian Omann doubled the lead at the 19:48 mark. Omann forced a turnover in the offensive zone, collected the loose puck and buried an unassisted goal to make it 2-0.

The early numbers reflected TCO’s strong start. It generated 19 of the game’s first 29 shots and appeared to have control of the contest.

Tradition needed an answer before the break and received one from Reese Peroutka. With 2:18 showing on the clock, Emma Peroutka created the opportunity and Reese Peroutka finished from the front of the net, cutting TCO’s advantage to 2-1.

That goal changed the direction of the game.  Tradition tied it just 3:31 into the second half. Libby Moe advanced the puck to Stella Strothman, who drove toward the net and scored with 26:29 remaining.

Peyton Demuth then gave Tradition its first lead, finishing a sustained offensive-zone sequence to make it 3-2. Tradition continued to press and added another goal with a terrific effort by Moe who made a move on the right side around the defense and wired a shelf goal, completing a run of four unanswered goals and extending the lead to 4-2.

TCO refused to go quietly though and with the clock approaching the final minute, TCO generated pressure around the Tradition crease and converted during a scramble in front to pull within 4-3. The comeback bid ended there, however, as Tradition added the final goal to secure the 5-3 victory.

Tradition completely reversed the shot totals after the break, outshooting TCO 17-10 in the second half. TCO finished with a narrow 29-27 advantage overall, but Finley Engfer turned aside 26 shots for Tradition.

After falling behind 2-0, Tradition scored five of the game’s final six goals to collect the win and improve its record to 2-4. TCO dropped to 3-3.