CROOKSTON BOYS HOCKEY FALLS 7-1 TO TRF IN SECTION 8A QUARTERFINALS

The Crookston Pirates Boys Hockey team gave the Thief River Falls Prowlers a good fight for much of the game but four third-period goals helped the Prowlers pull away for a 7-1 in the Section 8A Quarterfinals played at Ralph Engelstad Arena in Thief River Falls. 

1st Period
The first period started out pretty evenly between the Pirates and the Prowlers. The Prowlers would have an early shot advantage, but it was the Pirates creating the scoring chances at the other. “I thought we had a lot of good chances there in the first period,” said Pirates Coach Josh Hardy. “We were looking to create turnovers at their blue line and get some opportunities. We did a nice job of that.” The Pirates would go on a powerplay midway through the period but were unable to generate much offensively with the man advantage and that allowed the Prowlers to grab the momentum. The Prowlers would use that momentum to score the game’s first goal when Zachary Dalzell picked up a rebound on a shot from Tylan Johnson and flipped it home for a 1-0 lead with 7:49 to go. The Prowlers would build off the goal controlling the next few minutes of play before Alex Von Holtum fired a shot from the point that was stopped by Pirates Goaltender Carter Nelson, but Brendan Bottem was in position for the rebound and he buried it for a 2-0 with 3:11 left in the first. The Prowlers would give up their advantage late in the period though as they took two penalties including a five-minute major which resulted in 35 seconds of 5-on-3 powerplay for the Pirates but Crookston couldn’t capitalize and 3:50 of powerplay carried over to the second period. “They were very, very aggressive on the penalty kill,” said Hardy. “They did a really nice job of putting pressure on us and we made some not great decisions coming out of our zone. It was two goals in the first we would’ve liked to have back but it was two defensive breakdowns in front of our net.” The Prowlers outshot the Pirates 17-5 in the first period. 

2nd Period
The Pirates had 3:50 of powerplay in the second period but were unable to create a whole lot of offense and it would lead to a period of play mostly dominated by the Prowlers. The Prowlers would push their lead to 3-0 with 11:24 to go in the second when Johnson fed a pass to Tysen Loeffler who was given time and space coming down the slot before firing a quick wrist shot stick side into the back of the net. “We just didn’t pick him up in the middle of the ice,” said Hardy. “We knew they were going to hem us into our zone. We wanted to make them frustrated and take bad angle shots, then capitalize going the other way. We leave a guy unmarked coming into the slot and he makes us pay.” The Prowlers would continue to control play throughout the period, but with about 3:30 to go the Pirates started to respond. With the Pirates starting to move up ice it gave the Prowlers some chances at quick rushes on goal, but Nelson stood his ground. Then on the forecheck, Jack Doda would pick off a pass on the left wall, carry the puck towards the goal, sidestep a defender, and slide a backhanded shot five-hole for a goal to make it 3-1 with 2:02 to go. “Jack Doda makes a nice read on a defenseman coming around,” aid Hardy. “He picks his pocket, and comes in and slides one just barely across the goal line before (Brett) Holmer was able to grab it. It’s a chip and chair going in town two into the third. We have an opportunity and a chance to keep pushing and change the course of the season. I thought the attitude in the locker room was much better in the second intermission with the leaders stepping up there.” The Prowlers would try to respond again taking the puck deep and setting up in the offensive end but the Pirates defense played a strong final two minutes to end the period. The Prowlers outshot the Pirates 14-6 in the second period.

3rd Period
The Prowlers would use four third period goals to pull away beginning with a two-on-one midway through the period as Bottem carried in down the left slide and drifted toward the front of the goal waiting until the last second to beat the goaltender five-hole for a 4-1 lead with 10:58 to play. “I thought we looked good for 7-8 minutes there and then Bottem scores a beauty,” said Hardy. “He comes around two-on-one fakes going to the guys and slides it by Carter. That fourth one really did take the wind out of sales.” The Pirates continued to battle over the next four minutes before the Prowlers would strike again. This time off a faceoff win Morgan Rude fed a pass to Justin Funk in the left circle and he fired a laser into the net that caught both a part of the goaltender and a part of the post to make it 5-1 with 6:52 to play. “You’re starting to see the writing on the walls a little bit and then, we just ran out of gas,” said. “Our guys were running out of gas. We had a really good opportunity to score to make it 4-2. I thought Kaleb was tripped there and then they came back and scored. It was a nice goal for them and credit to Thief River they pushed the whole game.” Hardy It would take just 46 seconds for the Prowlers to light the lamp again, as Blake Biermaier picked up a deflected pass on the back door and put it in the net for a 6-1 lead. The Prowlers would add a fourth goal in the period with a bit of nifty passing. Dalzell sent a pass from behind the net to Bottem in the left circle, Bottem would feed cross-ice to Kaden Bakken in the right circle, Bakken found Dalzell back on the far post as he came from behind the net for a one-time goal with 3:10 to play. Gabe Montieth would have a chance for a late shot but it was blocked the Pirates season came to an end by a score of 7-1. And on the final shot of the game, the Prowlers would get a breakaway on Carter Nelson who stacked the pads to end his career with a highlight reel save. “Noah Kiel gets a shot blocked on the point and they come down on a breakaway,” said Hardy. “Carter Nelson stacks the pads, throws the legs up and gets the kicksave. End of the game and I come out to give him a hug and he goes – gotta go out with a bang, huh coach. I’m sad and upset for these seniors that their season is done but can’t help but laugh at that one.”  Prowlers outshot the Pirates 16-5 in the period.

The Pirates end the season with a record of 2-11 and will graduate five seniors – Kaleb Thingelstad, Noah Kiel, Gabe Montieth, Gavin Anderson, and Carter Nelson. “I told those boys in the locker room that at the end of the day very few of us are able to play at the next level but every one of you will be members of our community as teachers, or farmers, or doctors,” said Hardy. “It’s been fun to watch how they have really grown into young men over the last three years. I told them I’d be proud if any of my sons grew up to be like those five.” Coach Hardy also talked about what the returning players have to do in the off-season. “The season is won between April and September,” said Hardy. “I do think our future is really bright here but we have to get stronger. A lot of that is we’re playing 9th-10th graders that really haven’t physically matured yet. But we have to get into the weight room to get bigger, stronger, and faster. And we have to work on the basics of shooting and stickhandling.” The Prowlers improve to 9-8-1 and advance to the Section 8A semifinals against East Grand Forks on Tuesday.