CROOKSTON YOUTH HOCKEY UPDATE FROM FEBRUARY 10-16

MITE BLUE
The Mite Blue had a busy weekend with three games.  Saturday the boys went to Bemidji for back to back games against two different teams.  The first game we won by a score of 13-3. We came out and skated hard and really took control of the game.  Kegan Erickson was our goalie and he did a great job when there wasn’t very much going on for him. Our second game was directly after our first game and we found ourselves tired and losing 1-0 very early.  Bladen Melsa was our goalie for this game and he kept a lot of pucks out of the net to give us a chance to get our feet moving again. We ended up winning the second game by a score of 5-1. Scoring in Bemidji was Bladen Melsa, Jacob Biermaier, Asher Vigness, Blair Johnson, Hunter Brownsell, and Kegan Lessard.

On Sunday we went to Red Lake Falls for a rematch and played our first real hockey game with change on the fly and all the other good stuff.  We came out a little flat and found ourselves down 3-0 very quickly. We ended the 1st period with the same score.  We got a quick goal from Davin Janek in the second period and eventually ended the second period with a 3-1 score.  The third period was action-packed with good hockey. Bladen Melsa got us a goal to make it 3-2 but RLF got a quick one as well.  Jacob Biermaier gets the next two goals to tie the game at 4 with 6 minutes or so left in the game. We ended up giving up two more goals from tough angles and ended up pulling the goalie at the end of the game.  We gave up an empty-net goal and lost the game 7-4. Hunter Brownsell was our goalie and did a great job between the pipes. Overall we had a lot of kids play their best games of the year, we just ran into an RLF team with some talented kids.

The player of the week for the Blue team is Blair Johnson.  Blair is one of the better defensemen on our Blue team. Blair has done a terrific job holding the blue line and keeping the puck in play.  He has great hustle when somebody gets behind him and he chases them down. This weekend he played defense but took the puck up the ice to the net and scored a couple of goals.  He also played forward and scored a few more there as well. Nice job this weekend Blair, keep up the good work.

8U
The 8U player of the week is Lauren Tull.  Lauren brings a strong competitive drive to the rink each and every week.  Lauren has worked hard to improve this year, and it shows with her success on the ice.  Keep working hard Lauren!  The 8U will be at a Jamboree this weekend in EGF.

SQUIRTS
On Sunday, after a few days off, we traveled to EGF to take on their squirt b green team. The Crookston boys played a very good game, and we did pretty well as a working team. Our goalies really had our backs, making 50 saves in the game!  Our players were able to get 14 shots on the EGF goaltender. We ended in a 3-4 loss,  but as a team, they did very well and have some fuel to take into this next busy weekend.

Player of the week: Tucker Lubinski.  Tucker is very competitive, with a quick sense of humor and a very determined personality! Tucker has been a very solid hockey player and great teammate, he has made games very difficult for opposing teams forwards. Tucker is always ready with 2 hands on his stick and is a very aggressive defenseman.  When he steps up or pinches, he usually creates the disturbance and sometimes ends up with the steal and gets a shot on net! Great job Tucker!! Keep up the hard work and keep on being a great teammate!!

10U
Last week the girls played three games.  We started the weekend off with a Friday night with a game with Warroad.  The girls came out strong and played hard, dominating the game.  We outshot the Warroad team 44-11.  We won the game 4-1.  Scoring for us were Peyton Demarais and Kira Daniels each with 2 goals.  With this win, we received the #3 seed in districts.  Saturday evening we played in Grand Forks.  This game was a close game for two periods.  After the second period, we were winning 3-2.  In the third period, we came out strong and scored 3 goals.  The game ended with 6-2 win.  In this game, we had some nice passes setting up goals and scoring opportunities.  Scoring for us were Adley Vigness (3 goals) and Hailey Fritz, Kira Daniels and Rilynn Aubul each with a goal.  In our Sunday game, we played the Fargo Freeze 10U Blue team.  This game we grinded out a 6-4 win.  Some of the girls did a great job crashing the net and getting loose pucks.  Scoring for us were Kira Daniels (5 goals) and Adley Vigness with a goal. Great job this past weekend girls.  This upcoming weekend we travel to Grand Rapids for a tournament.  This should be a fun weekend for the girl’s team bonding.

PEEWEE A
Crookston PeeWee A finished off their season at home going 0-2 in the district tournament.  Losing the first game to Thief River Falls Saturday 7-0, and 4-2 to Lake of the Woods Sunday morning in an elimination game.

The team worked hard this season and laid the foundation for future success as Pirates.  Thank you to Parks & Rec, Blue Line Club, CSC Staff, Rich Sanders, Coaches, Parents, and Players.  The season goes by too fast and there are a lot of people that put in the time to make sure our players have the best experience possible.

PEEWEE B
This past weekend we traveled up to Baudette to play in the District tournament.  The boys had the early game on Friday taking on Red Lake Falls.  Tensions were high as a loss meant the end of the season, a win meant a matchup with the top-seeded East Grand Forks team.  It was a battle and playoff hockey was in the air, Crookston was able to get on the board with 5:43 to play in the first period on an unassisted goal from Gavin Aakhus.  It was a defensive battle and neither team could acquire sustained offensive pressure, the next goal wouldn’t come until Weston Benoit was able to win a race to a loose puck and bury an empty-net goal with 1:19 to play.  Crookston went on to win 2-0, Dylan Thode finished with 26 saves!
Our next opponent was the top-seeded team out of EGF, we played a tough game but found ourselves down 4-0 after two periods of play, the message was clear, we needed the first goal in the 3rd and try to get ourselves back in the game.  Weston Benoit was able to take advantage of a short-handed opportunity to cut EGF’s lead to 4-1 just 40 seconds into the 3rd period.  Crookston wouldn’t be able to find the back of the net again and ended up losing by a final of 8-1.  Dylan Thode finished the game with an amazing 63 saves!!!!
Saturday afternoon the boys faced off against Lake of the Woods in an elimination game. It was a high energy back and forth game.  LOW scored first to take the lead, but Crookston would find the equalizer. It was 1-1 after the first period, LOW took a 3-2 lead after the second period. Crookston would make it 3-3 with 8:45 to play.  LOW once again found the back of the net to take a 4-3 lead with 5 mins to play, Crookston was unable to find an answer and their season came to end in a hard fought loss.  Scoring for Crookston was Weston Benoit (1G, 1A), Conner Hanson (1G, 1A), Alex Mattson (1G), Gavin Aakhus (2A) and David Dauksavage (1A).  Dylan Thode had another amazing game with 42 saves!

Player of the Week: Weston Benoit.  Weston has had a strong work ethic all season, he plays with heart and determination whenever he sets foot on the ice.  This past weekend he raised his level of play to a level beyond that of what we have seen before and his effort showed on the score sheet, tallying goals in all 3 games this past weekend.  Keep working hard in the offseason Weston and we are looking forward to continued success at the Bantam level!

12U
The 12UA team headed north to Roseau for the District 16 playoff tournament this past weekend.  They faced Roseau in game 1, at noon on Saturday.  The first period, while the girls may have been working out some play-off jitters, was the deciding factor in this game.  Roseau came out strong, like they always do, and scored 3 goals in the first period.  0-3 after the 1st period.  The Pirates had a stronger 2nd period, getting more shots on net than the Rams, but both teams were scoreless in the 2nd period, leaving it at 0-3 heading into the final period of play.  In the final period of play, Pirates Karena Longoria was able to find the back of the net with 5:33 left in the game.  This gave the Pirates a spark of energy, but unfortunately, they couldn’t come out with the win.  The Pirates had 22 saved shots against the Rams, and Pirate goaltender Natalie Longoria had 29 saves for the team, keeping the final score at 1-3.

They faced Bemidji later the same day, in a must-win game or this loss would end the Pirates season.  The Pirates were the first to score in the 1st period, with a goal by Ashlyn Bailey (assist to Georgia Sanders).  This would be the only goal of the period leaving it 1-0 after the 1st, too close for comfort!  Ashlyn Bailey would come out early in the 2nd and scored a short-handed breakaway goal to take a 2-0 lead.  Bemidji came back on the same penalty and scored a power-play goal of their own, making it 2-1 very quickly.  Heading into the 3rd period, with the score of 2-1, the Pirate fans were not comfortable with the score and concerns of a loss ending the season were in the fore-front of our minds.  The Pirates came out strong in the 3rd period, and goaltender Natalie Longoria did an excellent job of keeping their shots out of the net!  Scoring for the Pirates in the 3rd period were Jojo Wallace (assists to Kaylie Clauson & Karena Longoria), Ashlyn Bailey (assist to Georgia Sanders), and Emma LaPlante.  With each goal, the excitement grew, and the final score was 5-1 in favor of the Pirates.  Pirate goaltender Natalie Longoria had 13 saves on the game.

The girls faced East Grand Forks for the final game on Sunday, the District 3rd place game.  After facing East Grand Forks twice in the season, and coming away with 6-0 score just a few weeks ago, the Pirates may have been a little over-confident in the outcome of the game.  East Grand Forks scored the only goal in the first period.  In the 2nd period, Pirates Ashlyn Bailey scored the lone goal, unassisted, making the score 1-1 heading in the 3rd period.  The Green Wave scored on a power play to take the lead just 4 minutes into the period, and though the effort was there, the Pirates couldn’t get one past a strong EGF goaltender (28 shots on net for the Pirates).  The Pirates pulled their goalie in the final minutes of play, and EGF found the open net with 24 seconds left in the game to secure the win and make the final score 1-3.  Pirates goaltender Natalie Longoria had 18 saves on the game, and played a hard-fought game for the team.  The Pirates would end the District tournament in 4th place, and fortunately, this means a trip to the Region tournament for the team, so their season is still going strong.

This upcoming weekend, the 12UB team hosts 4 games at home.  Friday @ 7:30 vs West Fargo, Saturday @ 11:00 & 3:30 vs Moorhead (Orange & Black), and Sunday vs Fargo Blue @ 12:00 p.m.  Come on out to the CSC and cheer on the Lady Pirates!

BANTAMS
The Crookston Bantams had a busy 2 weeks. On Sunday, Feb 9th the Bantams beat Hibbing 5-0. Jackson Dauksavage had the shutout for Crookston. Goals were scored by Riley Helgeson (2), Brekken Tull, Kadin Edwards, and Ty Larson. Assists went to Carter Trudeau, Jackson Reese(3), Reese Swanson, Ashton Shockman, and Dalen Korynta.
Tuesday Crookston beat Bemidji White 7-6 in overtime. Crookston overcame a 4 goal deficit for the win. Leading Crookston was Kadin Edwards with 5 goals. Also scoring were Reese Swanson and Lucas Miller. Assists went to Edwards, Shockman, Tull(2), and Swanson.
Crookston‘s season came to an end in the district 16 tournament in EGF where they went 1-2 and were eliminated from play. Crookston lost to Baudette on Friday 8-2. Scoring for Crookston was Brekken Tull, and Blake Melsa. Assists went to Carter Trudeau. Saturday morning, Crookston beat Warroad for the first time this year 6-3. Goals were scored by Riley Helgeson, Brekken Tull, Reese Swanson, Carter Trudeau, Jackson Reese, and Ashton Shockman. Assists went to Trudeau(3), Tull (2), Lucas Miller, Jackson Reese, and Blake Melsa. On Sunday Crookston’s season came to an end in a 5-1 loss to EGF. Crookston had its lone goal from Kadin Edwards. Ashton Shockman had the assist. Crookston finishes its season with a record of 16-23-1.

Players of the Week: Ashton Shockman & Riley Helgeson. 
Ashton took huge steps in his game the last half of the season. He started to play more physical and with great confidence up and down the ice. His net front presence this past few weeks was rewarded with multiple goals and assists in games. Each week Ashton improved and worked hard in practice and it showed on the ice. Great work Ashton!

Riley Helgeson is a Peewee age player who played up with the Bantams this season. Riley came to practice each week ready to learn and work his hardest. He showed his teammates and coaches some of the biggest improvements throughout the season on our team. Riley embraced the physical side of the game and was a great asset to our team. This past weekend in districts Riley had a huge goal in the win against Warroad. In the game against Hibbing Riley lead the team with 2 goals. We look forward to his continued success.