Coming off their first loss of the season the #1 Warroad Warriors bounced back with a dominating performance with a 9-0 win over the Crookston Pirates Boys Hockey team, who were coming off their first of the season, in a Section 8A game played at The Gardens in Warroad.
FIRST PERIOD
The Warriors jumped out to an early lead in the first period when Owen Meeker beat Pirate goaltender Noah Dragseth just 19 seconds into the game to give Warroad a 1-0 lead. “I think mentally we weren’t quite prepared today,” said Pirates coach Josh Hardy. “That top line is arguably the best line in the state. We leave a guy out front and they make us pay.” Warroad controlled the game early and would get a golden chance to extend their lead three minutes into the game Jason Shaugabay carried the puck into the offensive zone making a nifty move around the Pirates defense for a shot on goal but Dragseth was up to that challenge to keep the Warroad lead at one. Warroad would take a 2-0 lead when Jason Shaugabay passed on a shot attempt dropping the puck back to Grant Slukynsky who pounded the puck into the net with 5:52 to play in the first. “Once Noah settled down after that first one he was great,” said Hardy. “To get out of that first period only down 2-0 I thought we had an opportunity in the second but they just kept coming in droves.” Warroad outshot the Pirates 16-2 in the first period.
SECOND PERIOD
The Pirates opened the second period with an opportunity to cut the Warroad lead in half when Jack Doda got loose on a breakaway a minute into the second period but Warroad goaltender Jack Orchard made a blocker save to keep the Pirates off the board. Warroad would immediately send the puck the other way and following a save by Dragseth would score off the ensuing faceoff when Anthony Foster beat Dragseth for a 3-0 lead with 15:36 to go in the second. Warroad would make it 4-0 when Cooper Cole held the blue line on a clearing attempt firing on shot was redirected by Carson Reed into the net. Warroad would score their fifth goal right after the Pirates killed off a penalty when Grant Slukynsky scored his second of the game to make it 5-0 with 7:36 to go in the second. Meeker scored his second of the game when he fought through the Pirates defense and pushed a backhander on net that got by Dragseth for a 6-0 lead with 3:04 to play in the period. “We lost Ben Andringa probably halfway through the first with a shoulder injury,” said Hardy. “He tried to gut it out but just wasn’t able to play. When we’re short on guys to begin with that’s a pretty big blow for us. I thought we battled more in the second but they had a couple of nice goals there.” Warroad outshot the Pirates 21-3 in the second.
THIRD PERIOD
Slukynsky extended the lead to 7-0 when he scored off a pass from Shaugabay with 5:48 to play. Warroad made it 8-0 when Jack Kotlowski fed a pass to Matt Hard on the doorstep and he scored with 7:52 to play. Jaren Bailey would replace Noah Dragseth in goal with seven minutes to go for the Pirates. Slukynsky would get his fourth goal with a hard blast off the left wall to make it 9-0 with 1:40 left in the game. Warroad continued trying to score as they even registered a shot on goal in the final second of the game. “We just didn’t have an answer for them all night,” said Hardy. “They are arguably the best team in the state for a reason. We had a couple of good chances to score but couldn’t quite find the back of the net. Shots are what they are, they missed five to seven for us, but it’s still a dominate performance by them.” Warroad outshot the Pirates 14-3 in the third.
Warroad improves to 14-1 on the year. The Pirates fall to 1-14 and will host Detroit Lakes on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
| Scoring | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final |
| CROOKSTON | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Warroad | 2 | 4 | 3 | 9 |
1st Period
16:41 – War – Owen Meeker (Grant Slukynsky)
5:52 – War – Grant Slukynsky (Jayson Shaugabay, Blake Norris)
2nd Period
15:36 – War – Anthony Foster (unassisted)
13:23 – War – Carson Reed (Cooper Cole)
7:36 – War – Grant Slukynsky (2) (Jayson Shaugabay)
3:04 – Owen Meeker (Saizha Norwegian)
3rd Period
5:48 – War – Grant Slukynsky (3) (Jayson Shaugabay)
7:52 – War – Matt Hard (Jack Kotlowski, Emmett Marvin)
1:40 – War – Grant Slukynsky (4) (Jayson Shaugabay)
| Saves | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final |
| Noah Dragseth – Crox | 14 | 17 | 5 | 36 |
| Jaren Bailey – Crox | x | x | 5 | 5 |
| Jack Orchard – War | 2 | 3 | 3 | 8 |
