The Crookston Blue Line Club has released the Crookston Youth Hockey recap from last week’s games and announced the Players of the Week. For the recap, see below.
MITE BLUE
The Mite Blue had a busy weekend which started out with a tough 8-1 loss in TRF. Even though it was our first full ice game of the year and our first time with offsides and icing’s being called, we did well with both of those. Bladen Melsa used his speed well on the big ice and got our lone goal for the team. Brody Meyer was our goalie for this game and the first game against Bemidji on Sunday. Brody posted a shutout victory for our Blue team on Sunday. Our first win of the year was a 10-0 victory. Scoring for the Blue was Jacob Biermaier and Bladen Melsa with 3 goals each, Blair Johnson with 2, Hunter Brownsell and Joseph Burnette with 1 apiece. We followed up our win with another 9-0 win over the second Bemidji team. This time Jacob Biermaier posted the shutout. Scoring in this game was Kegan Lessard and Blair Johnson with 3 each, Davin Janek with 2 and Kegan Erickson with 1. In both victories, we used the whole ice well. We played positions extremely well by spreading out and making passes. We took shots when we should have and capitalized on rebounds. We had 6 different kids play defense on Sunday and they played shut down hockey, along with our backchecking forwards to help our goalies face limited shots.
Even though we played a couple of great all-around team games, Bladen Melsa is our player of the week. Bladen has been working extremely hard in the last couple of weeks and was rewarded with some goals this weekend. Not only did he score but he had some great passes which resulted in goals for his teammates, but he played a very good defensive game as well. Bladen can back check with the best of them and isn’t afraid to get into the corners and go after the puck. Nice job Bladen, keep up the good work!
MITE WHITE
The Mite White Team had their second game of the season this past Saturday away against Thief River Falls. Grayson Solberg was in the net for us and the whole team played hard.
Player of the Week: Grant Moe. Grant came out flying on Saturday scoring 2 goals and playing very great defense in which he made a few plays back checking to prevent the opposing team from getting a shot off to score. Grant has improved so much thus far this season and continues to be a great asset for the Mite white team. He’s a heads up player who gives himself chances to score and make plays.
8U
The 8U player of the week is Catelyn Maruska. Catelyn has worked hard to improve this year and brings a positive attitude and smile, each and every day. She suited up as goalie this past week after scoring a couple of goals for us the prior weekend. Keep up the good work Catelyn! The 8U will be traveling to East Grand Forks this coming Saturday.
SQUIRT
The Squirt B team traveled to Sauk Rapids this last weekend for a tournament. The first game in the tournament we played Armstrong Cooper (New Hope, MN) on Friday evening. As a team, we didn’t play our best but managed to have a 1 goal lead by the end of the second. In the 3rd period, we weren’t able to get a goal, and AC was able to get 2 more giving them the win (5-4) Scoring in that game was Hudson Rick (3) and Grant Funk (1).
Our 2nd game of the tournament we played STMA (Saint Michael- Albertville) Saturday morning. The boys played a lot better after a good nights rest and kept on top the entire game-winning 9-5. Scoring in that game was Hudson Rick (4), Grant Funk (4), and Camren Duncan.
The 3rd game we played Saturday evening against Princeton, MN. The Team didn’t hold back and looked great on the ice and the scoreboard, 19-2 win for the boys was fun. Scoring was Aiden Weiland (2), Hudson Rick (2), Cam Martin, Jaret Mattson, Rowan Benoit (2), Jackson Fritsch, Grant Funk (5), and Camren Duncan (5).
The last game we played was late Sunday Morning against Cottage Grove MN for 3rd place. The boys played well, and worked hard to get the win (11-8) and take home the 3rd place trophy! Scoring was Hudson Rick (4), Rowan Benoit (2), Grant Funk (3), and Camren Duncan (2).
Player of the Week is Rowan Benoit. He is a good teammate and a very coachable kid! Rowan used his speed and determination this weekend to make some great plays and was able to get 4 goals and a few assists this weekend. Great job Rowan! Keep up your hard work!
10U
Last week we started off the week by playing Thief River Falls on Monday. This was a very competitive game. We battled back and forth and ended the game with a 4-3 win. Scoring for us were Adley Vigness (3 goals) and Kira Daniels (1 goal). On Saturday we traveled to Grand Rapids for two games. In the first game, we played the Grand Rapids 10u Orange team outdoors. Grand Rapids has a third sheet of ice that is set up quite nice for an outdoor game. We had a late start to the game due to the cold weather. Their coaches said that their association doesn’t let the referees go on the ice with below zero temps. We delayed the start of the game for a while to try to get above zero. We started the game with a temp of -2. One of the parents from the other team reffed the game for us due to the head ref not letting the scheduled refs on the ice. We would play for a period and go and warm-up for a few minutes. This was a very competitive game. The girls stayed warm enough to keep battling through the game. We played to a 4-4 tie. Scoring for us were Kira Daniels (2 goals) and Adley Vigness and Shyuh Burnette each with a goal. This was a fun experience for the girls to play outside with the extreme temperatures we had. They will remember this game years from now. In our second game of the day, we played the Grand Rapids 10u Green team. All of the girls seemed to be a little tired and slow for this game. I think the outdoor game took a lot of our energy. The girls played to a 3-0 win in this game. Scoring for us were Adley Vigness (2 goals) and Kira Daniels with one goal. Great job girls this past week playing to two wins and a tie against good competition.
PEEWEE A
Crookston Peewee A had a solid weekend going 2-1 against some strong competition. The hard work the team is putting in the weight room is starting to show up in games. Saturday Crookston beat Roseau PwAA 4-3 and Sunday they split their two games beating Fergus Falls 5-3 Sunday morning and then falling short to Alexandria 3-1. Crookston travels to Brainerd this Saturday and will also play Northern Lakes after the Pirates in Crosby Saturday evening.
PEEWEE B
We traveled down to play in the Detroit Lakes tournament. The boys opened up on Friday afternoon against the host Detroit Lakes team. It was a fast-paced back and forth game, DL took the lead right away just 1:15 seconds into the game, Crookston was able to tie it on a goal from Wyatt Marsyla (assisted by Masen Reitmeier). Crookston took the lead in the second when Alex Mattson found the back of the net (Assisted by Masen Reitmeier and Dexter Janek). DL tied it up halfway through the second period but Crookston was able to reclaim the lead 6 minutes later when Masen Reitmeier (assisted by Dexter Janek) scored giving Crookston a 3-2 lead after 2 periods of play. Crookston got off to a quick start when Masen won the faceoff and raced into the offensive zone, his initial shot was saved into the corner but Masen’s determination paid off when he scored from behind the goal line using the goalie as a backboard! Crookston took a 4-2 lead and never looked back. Dylan Thode had 23 saves for Crookston as they went on to win 4-2.
Crookston played again Saturday morning against the St Vital Falcons (Canada). The boys started out hot when Masen Reitmeier scored on the second shift of the game. Crookston dominated gameplay the entire game winning by a final score of 7-0. Scoring for Crookston was Masen Reitmeier (3G,1A), Marcus Narvaez (1G, 1A), Gavin Aakhus (1G, 1A), David Dauksavage (1G, 1A) Conner Hanson (1G) and Dexter Janek (1A). Dylan Thode finished the game with 19 saves.
Crookston’s last game of pool play was against the St Vital Lazers (Canada), both teams were undefeated in the pool coming into this game, the winner will be guaranteed a spot in the semi-final championship bracket. Crookston was down 1-0 after the 1st period. The Lazers scored again in the second to take a 2-0 lead until Conner Hanson scored to cut the deficit to 2-1 after 2 periods of play. The Lazers came out and scored just 1:26 into the 3rd period to re-claim a 2 goal lead until Dexter Janek found Conner Hanson for a huge power-play goal! With the lead cut to 1, Crookston was buzzing, Dexter Janek once again was able to catch and open teammate when he found Marcus Narvaez who scored the equalizer making it 3-3 with 9:25 to play in regulation. 2 minutes later Crookston took the lead for the first time of the game on a brilliant goal from Isaiah Donarski. The Lazers had sustained pressure in the Crookston zone with the 3rd period waning and they were able to sneak one past Dylan to tie it up with 2:55 to play. The game went to a shoot out, Crookston lost the coin toss and was first to shoot. Masen Reitmeier started it off with a goal when he made the goalie move from left to right and beat him low blocker side. Dylan Thode made the save on St Vital’s first shooter, bringing Conner Hanson up for Crookston, he moved left, faked high blocker side, the goalie raised up and Conner slipped the puck by him under his right pad to take a 2 goal lead. St Vital needed to scored to stay alive but Dylan Thode stayed strong in net and shut him down, Crookston wins to move on to the semi-finals! Dylan ended with 25 saves.
Crookston met up with yet another team from St Vital (Canada) when they faced off against the Warriors for a chance to go to the Championship. Crookston started out hot scoring less than 2 minutes into the game on a rush by Isaiah Donarski. This was the only time that the Warriors ever trailed in the entire tournament. St Vital would end up beating Crookiston 8-1 to move on to the Championship game where they beat Mounds View 1-0 to claim the championship, they only allowed 4 goals all tournament. Dylan Thode finished with 20 saves against the Warriors.
Crookston met up once again with the St Vital Lazers in a rematch for 3rd place. Crookston had a dominating performance as they went on to win 4-2 and claim 3rd place in the tournament. Scoring for Crookston was Conner Hanson (2G), Masen Reitmeier (1G, 1A), Weston Benoit (1G) and Dexter Janek (1A).
Player of the Week: Masen Reitmeier. Masen was an absolute machine this weekend, making big plays defensively and had a dominating offensive performance finishing the weekend with 7 goals and 4 assists. Masen has been working hard all season, you could feel a breakout weekend had to be close, well Masen you had your breakout weekend!!! Well done!
12U
This past weekend, the 12UA team traveled to Alexandria, to partake in the Big Ole Hockey Tournament. They played their first game Friday evening and showed up ready to take on Elk River. There was a lot of back and forth play in the first period, and the Pirates, Ashlyn Bailey, was able to find the back of the net with a little over 3 minutes left of the first period – making the score 1-0. Karena Longoria, with an assist from JoJo Wallace, started the scoring in the 2nd period. Elk River answered back, only to have the Ashlyn Bailey score again less than a minute later. Final scoring of the game came with just 1 ½ minutes left in the 2nd period, when Madi Harbott scored, with an assist to Ashlyn Bailey. The 3rd period went scoreless, making the final score 3-2 in favor of the Pirates. Natalie Longoria had 24 saves on the game.
Saturday’s games didn’t go the way the Pirates had hoped they would, and they were shutout in both games. They played first against Centennial with a final score of 0-9. Natalie Longoria had 15 saves on the game. The second game on Saturday was against Duluth with a final score was 0-7. Natalie Longoria had 16 saves on the game.
Sunday, the girls faced opponent Hopkins Park, which is a co-op of Hopkins and St. Louis Park. Hopkins Park started off scoring the first 2 goals of the game, and the Pirates Ashlyn Bailey answered back with a shot from the point, making it 1-2 after the first period. Hopkins Park scored first in the 2nd period, and Pirates Emma LaPlante, assisted by Addie Fee, answered back. Hopkins Park then scored three power-play goals to take the lead, making the score 2 to 6, with 3 minutes left in the second. Again, Ashlyn Bailey found the back of the net on a breakaway, to make the score 3 to 6 at the end of the second period. In the third period, Hopkins Park scored one more time, and Ashlyn Bailey answered with one more goal to finish off the game. The final score was 4-7, and Natalie Longoria had 19 saves on the game.
This next weekend, the 12U teams are back at home at the CSC for the first time in 2020! Come on out and cheer them on. 12UB faces Brainerd 12UB at 12:15 and 3:45 on Saturday, Jan 18th. 12UA faces Roseau at 5:15 on Saturday, Jan 18th. 12UA faces Bemidji at 1:45 on Sunday, Jan 19th.
No B games last week.
12UA Player of the Week: Ashlyn Bailey. Ashlyn had a great weekend in Alexandria against some very strong competition. Ash sees the ice well and doesn’t miss an opportunity to contribute to the offense which added (5g,1a) 6 points to her season totals. Great job Ashlyn!
BANTAM
The Crookston Bantams played in their home tournament this past weekend going 2-2-0. On Friday night, Crookston defeated Monticello 5-2. Scoring for Crookston were Kadin Edwards, Blake Melsa, Reese Swanson, Carter Trudeau, and Ty Larson. Assists went to Riley Helgeson, Jayden Steinbrink(2), Jackson Reese(2), Brekken Tull, Blake Melsa, and Carter Trudeau. Jackson Dauksavge was in net turning away 18 shots. Saturday Crookston’s offense couldn’t get much going dropping a pair of games to Bismarck 9-1, and St. Vital 5-1. Scoring for Crookston were Ashton Shockman and Jackson Reese. Assist went to Brekken Tull and Jayden Steinbrink. Sunday morning, Crookston found its offense beating 7 Oaks 9-1. Scoring for Crookston were Ty Larson, Brekken Tull, Koda Donarski, Reese Swanson(2), Lucas Miller, Kadin Edwards, Dalen Korynta, and Carter Trudeau. Assists went to Edwards, Miller(2), Melsa, and Steinbrink. Dauksavage was in net again backstopping Crookston to the victory.
Player of the Week: Jackson Dauksavage. Jackson is the lone bantam goalie this season. This weekend Jackson showed off his athleticism with some game-saving stops against Monticello and 7 Oaks. Although the season has had its ups and downs, Jackson tries his best to keep his team in games week in and out. Jackson is extremely passionate in net and has very high expectations for himself doing whatever he can to stop the puck. Everyday Jackson comes to practice ready to work hard and improve. Jackson is an extremely important piece to the team and we’re lucky to have him. Keep up the great work Jackson!
