FERGUS FALLS -- The Willmar Cardinals finished the regular season with a flourish, blanking Fergus Falls 2-0 on the Otters' home ice on Friday night.
Goalie Ben Leitch got the shutout, also avenging a 5-4 Central Lakes loss in overtime to Fergus on Feb. 5. The Otters have dropped four straight since that win in Willmar.
It was the sixth shutout this winter for the Cardinals' defense. Leitch had 21 saves.
"They had a few flurries where Ben came up big, but we had a few more good attempts and their goalie had some good saves, too," said Willmar coach Dan Tollefson.
Gabe Amon scored the first goal of the game with 2:45 left in the first period with the assist from Jake Tone. Liam Johnston scored six minutes into the third period for the final goal. Paul Schrupp got the assist.
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The Cardinals will take a 14-10 overall record up to Detroit Lakes on Tuesday in the quarterfinal-round of the Section 6A tournament. Willmar is the No. 5 seed and the Lakers are No. 4 with a win over Willmar, 4-2 on Jan. 8 in Willmar.
"We're playing good in the last six games," said Tollefson. "We're pretty happy with the way we are playing."
Willmar 2, Fergus Falls 0
Willmar (7-8, 14-10) 1 0 1 -- 2
Fergus Falls (7-9-1, 10-10-3) 0 0 0 -- 0
FIRST PERIOD - Wil: Gabe Amon (Jake Tone) 14:15
SECOND PERIOD - no scoring
THIRD PERIOD - Wil: Liam Johnston (Paul Schrupp) 6:00
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GOALIE SAVES - Willmar: Ben Leitch 21 ... Fergus Falls: Jason Lofquist18
