ST. CLOUD - Senior goaltender Ben Swanson stopped 39 of 41 shots and No. 2 seed Fergus Falls’ top forward line scored three third-period goals on Tuesday in the Otters’ 4-2 victory over No. 3 seed Northern Lakes in a Section 6A semifinal at the Municipal Athletic Complex.
Each member of Fergus Falls’ power trio of juniors Shane Zierden and Kellen Stenstrom and sophomore Jake Welde scored a goal in the third period as the No. 18-1A Otters (13-10-2) rallied from a 2-1 deficit.
Zierden scored 7:54 into the third to tie it at 2-2, Welde scored the go-ahead goal less than a minute later and Stenstrom added an insurance goal with 3:48 remaining.
Swanson made 16 saves in a hectic first period. The only goal in the first was scored by Fergus Falls’ Brayden Nelson.
Finnegan Fogerty and Jerome Martin scored in the second period for Northern Lakes (12-14-0).
Fergus Falls advances to play Alexandria in the section final for the second-straight season on Thursday. The Cardinals won the previous meeting on its way to placing fourth at the state tournament. The teams also met in the 2021 section semifinals with the Otters winning that contest.