OWATONNA — An early goal set the tone for the Faribault High School boys hockey team as the Falcons cruised to a 5-1 win over Owatonna on Friday.

FHS senior Jack Helgeson scored 1:39 into the game to put his team on the board. Luke Thom made it 2-0 at the 5:08 mark, and Faribault (7-12-1, 5-3 Big 9 Conference) carried that momentum throughout the remainder of the game.

“That’s a pretty big goal as far as who gets the first one,” FHS coach Brad Ryan said. “To start the game, we dictated the pace of play. We were able to generate some offense.”

Ryan said that the Huskies (7-13, 4-7) were just two games removed from an emotional 2-1 overtime win over Rochester Century and played a game Thursday against Winona. The Falcons, meanwhile, were playing their first game of the week.

“They’ve had a long week. Our guys are pretty well rested,” Ryan said. “We were able to take advantage of that.”

Jacob Fritz put FHS up 3-0 in the third, and Helgeson added his second goal of the night for a 4-0 lead. Connor Wierschem made it 5-0 before Owatonna’s Justin Brown put his team on the board late in the third period.

Senior goalie Aaron Forgaard stopped 25 Huskies shots to earn the win. Faribault fired 26 shots at Owatonna netminder Jake Tveite.

The Falcons are back on the ice Saturday for a road game against Chanhassen.