Twin Cities Orthopedics Claims Third Place With 5-1 Win

The Dangle League regular season came to a close Tuesday night with plenty at stake in the finale at Braemar Arena.

MNHockeyTv was playing its second game of the evening after suffering a hard-fought 5-4 loss to Fortis. Both MNHockeyTv and Twin Cities Orthopedics entered the final game with 3-4 records and nine points.

The equation was simple. A regulation win meant sole possession of third place and, more importantly, a direct path into the playoff semifinals. The losing team would fall into the play-in quarterfinal game.

Twin Cities Orthopedics seized the opportunity. TCO scored three times during the final 8:40 of the first half and received 34 combined saves from its goaltending tandem in a 5-1 victory.

The game remained scoreless through more than 21 minutes despite MNHockeyTv applying consistent offensive pressure. Alexandra Christian finally broke the stalemate with 8:40 remaining in the half, finishing a setup from Brielle Clardy and Marian Omann.

The goal opened the door for TCO and Evelyn Lundeen scored her first of the season from Dana Madsen with 6:16 remaining. Just 1:29 later, Daisy Harens converted from Clardy and Omann to stretch the lead to 3-0.

Twin Cities Orthopedics scored three times in a span of 3:53 and carried the three-goal advantage into the break despite being outshot 17-11.

MNHockeyTv needed only 20 seconds to respond in the second half. Annika Eggert connected from Alexa Larson with 29:40 remaining, cutting the deficit to 3-1 and providing an immediate spark.

TCO answered less than three minutes later. Omann scored an unassisted goal at 26:51 to restore the three-goal lead and stop MNHockeyTv’s comeback attempt before it could gather momentum.

MNHockeyTv continued to generate chances and finished with a 35-23 advantage in shots. Ty Jabs and Vivienne Anderson held firm in the TCO crease, allowing just one goal against the league’s highest shot total of the night.

Emerson Grinsteinner completed the scoring from Madsen with 1:36 remaining, giving Twin Cities Orthopedics the 5-1 victory.

Clardy and Omann each recorded two assists, while Madsen added a pair of helpers for TCO.

The regulation win lifted Twin Cities Orthopedics into sole possession of third place with a 4-4 record and 12 points. TCO earned a bye out of the play-in round and advanced directly to the Dangle League semifinals.

MNHockeyTv finished fifth at 3-5 with nine points after dropping both games of Tuesday’s doubleheader. Its losing streak reached four games, setting up a play-in quarterfinal matchup against fourth-place Tradition Mortgage.

Fortis claimed the regular season championship with 16 points, followed by Performance Office Papers with 13, Twin Cities Orthopedics with 12, Tradition Mortgage with 10 and MNHockeyTv with nine.