Glen Strandberg
Sports Editor

That was close. The boys hockey team played last-place Mounds View on Saturday, Feb. 10, but it was the Mustangs who led 1-0 going into the third period.

Mounds View didn’t have much offense on the night, but they were successful in getting the puck past Rangers’ goalie Paul Moberg in the first period, on their way to a grand total of just 14 shots.

“I thought that we played very well in our defensive zone, but we also back-checked really well,” head coach Carl Brandt said.

The Mustangs defense had to work twice as hard as Tre Douglas made 27 saves, but it would be Christian Fogerty and Jake Kogler who would come to the rescue for Forest Lake. Those two would each score in the third period and send the Rangers out of Maroon & Gold Arena with a 2-1 victory.

“We were putting a lot of pressure on them so I wasn’t too concerned,” Brandt said about the 1-0 deficit. “It was just a matter of when we could crack ‘em.”

With more than 12 minutes remaining in the game, Christian Fogerty used an assist from Aaron Kubes to tie the game at 1-1.

It wasn’t until the 9:58 mark of the third that Jake Kogler would knock in the game-winner while the Mustangs were working on a power-play

“It’s always nice to get a shorthanded goal, and that was all effort on his part,” Brandt said.

The win improved Forest Lake’s record to 10-11-2, 5-8-1, and dropped Mounds View down to 6-17-0, 2-13-0.

The regular season comes to a close this week as the boys had a rematch with Cretin-Derham Hall (16-5-2, 10-2-2) on Tuesday, and then look to knock off Woodbury (17-5-1, 8-5-1) on Thursday, Feb. 15.

“I would rather play tougher teams than go in thinking you’re much better than you really are,” Brandt said.

Only two weeks ago the Rangers tied Cretin 3-3 in St. Paul, but in mid-January the Rangers lost at home to Woodbury, 4-0.

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