A strong finish could not erase a rough start for the Aberdeen Wings Friday night.
St. Cloud scored twice in the first seven minutes of the game and then held on for a 2-1 victory in the opening round of the NAHL hockey playoffs at the Odde Ice Center.
The victory snapped a four-game winning streak against the Norsemen and now flipped the home-ice advantage to St. Cloud.
The visitors found the back of the net less than 90 seconds into the contest on a backhanded shot, then added an insurance goal at the 13:40 mark of the opening period.
“That’s what happens when you’re not ready to go. I would say that those two goals were goals that were shockers for us, because we came out and had good pressure and put them on their heels right away, and then they score on their first shot,” said Wings coach Scott Langer. “That’s great for a road team. I’m sure they’ll take that all day long, but for us, you’re fighting from behind the entire game. We obviously played good hockey the last half of that game. We outplayed them, but it doesn’t matter in playoff hockey. It’s about winning.”
The Wings had chances to cut into the margin late in the first period and early in the second when they had two-man advantage for about a minute. However, they were unable to find the back of the net.
Aberdeen kept battling and eventually cut the lead in half when Jordan Ronn scored with 14:14 left in the third.
“I got a lucky bounce,” Ronn said, “just drove the net hard and slid it five hole.”
The goal put the fans on their feet and gave the Wings a boost of energy heading into the back half of the period.
“It was an unbelievable feeling,” Ronn said of the playoff goal.
However, Aberdeen was never able to find the equalizer down the stretch.
After scoring 15 goals in two games against the Norseman last week, the Wings found scoring more difficult on this occasion.
“They were good defensively,” Langer said, “and we had some opportunities we just couldn’t get it into the back of the net.”
Once again, goalie Cole Moore had a solid performance in the net for the Wings. He stopped a penalty shot with 5:34 remaining and also came up with a clutch save about two minutes later to keep Aberdeen in the game.
“He always does. He’s our MVP,” Langer said. “He’s reliable. He’s grown. He’s become very mature in net.”
While the Wings outshot St. Cloud in the contest, they were never quite able to overcome that early rough stretch.
“We had a slow start,” Ronn said, “like nine minutes of hockey that cost us the game, so hopefully we come better (Saturday).”
Game two of the series is tonight with puck drop set for 7:15.
Ronn said the squad just needs to play like they are capable of.
“We just have to play our game like we did the last two periods and we’ll be fine,” Ronn said.
While this evening is not a must-win situation for the Wings, it is crucial to even up the series heading to St. Cloud next weekend.
“It’s a five-game series. We definitely have to respond (Saturday) and at least get one in our home building,” Langer said. “They’ve taken the home-ice advantage back their way. We’ll just have to win on the road.”
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