The Crookston Pirate Boys Hockey team continued their offensive barrage to start the year as they hit double digits on the Blades of Breckenridge/Wahpeton, defeating them 10-3 at the Crookston Sports Center.
FIRST PERIOD
It was impossible to start the game any better for the Blades, and that’s because after winning the opening faceoff, Isaiah Bruechert received a beautiful pass and blistered the puck into the net, putting the Blades up 1-0 after just 18 seconds. They began to take control of the puck for the next few minutes of play, as the Pirates came out of the gates a little flat; that domination in puck possession was capped off with a one-timer by Josh Hofman, putting the Blades up 2-0 4 minutes into the game. However, after that, Crookston slowly began to get into a rhythm and started to pepper Blades goaltender Gale Gilbertson. The defense for Breckenridge/Wahpeton held their ground and even killed a penalty in which Crookston got 3 shots on goal. However, with exactly 1 minute to go in the period, Jay Reese scored his third of the year on a puck loose in front, and Crookston was able to close the gap to 2-1 at the end of the period.
SECOND PERIOD
It was clear that the goal in the final minute for the Pirates sparked a fire within the offense, as just 35 seconds in, Gavin Aakhus found the twine behind Gilbertson, tying the game at 2-2. 31 seconds later, an Aakhus shot was deflected in by Garrett Fischer, and the Pirates took their first lead of the night at 3-2. The Pirates’ hyper-aggressiveness sparked 3 separate power plays in the next 7 minutes of the period, but they resulted in nothing. However, seconds after the third penalty was killed, Brandon Colborn scored to lift the Pirates up to a 4-2 lead. Two minutes later, Fischer stole the puck and scored on a breakaway to make it 5-2, and then Jay Reese scored his second of the night with less than 2 minutes to go to take a 6-2 lead. Parker Kelly did not record a save in the first 14 minutes but recorded 6 in the final 3, and with 17 seconds left, Michael Peterson put one past Kelly to cut the lead to 6-3 at the end of the second period.
THIRD PERIOD
Breckenridge/Wahpeton was hopeful that their goal in the final seconds of the second period would spark a turnaround, but Crookston was having none of it. Their defense continued to prevent the Blades from getting any sort of consistent offense, and less than 2 minutes into the period, Tate Hamre sniped a shot from the blue line to make it 7-3. The Blades got a 5-on-3 power play just minutes later, but were unable to get even a shot on goal. As soon as the Pirates were back at full strength, Jay Reese capped off his hat trick with a backhanded goal to make it 8-3 Pirates. 16 seconds later, Ryan Street decided to join in on the fun, scoring his first of the year to make it 9-3. Teagan Lubinski added his first of the year to make it 10-3, and the running clock hit zeroes at that score, giving Crookston the win.
Crookston improves to 3-0-0 on the year, and they host Northern Lakes on Saturday. The Blades drop to 1-1-1 on the season.
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final |
| Wahpeton/Breck | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Crookston | 1 | 5 | 4 | 10 |
1st Period
0:18 – W/B – Isaiah Bruechert (Kai McDonald, Michael Peterson)
3:57 – W/B – Josh Hofman (Luke Craig, Xander Clinnert)
16:00 – CROX – Jay Reese (3) Garrett Fischer, Gavin Aukhus)
2nd Period
0:35 – CROX – Gavin Aakhus (3) (Jay Reese)
1:06 – CROX – Garrett Fischer (2) Gavin Aakhus, Jay Reese)
9:05 – CROX – Brandon Colborn (1) Ryan Street, Liam Larson)
11:33 – CROX – Garrett Fischer (3) unassisted
15:24 – CROX – Jay Reese (4) (Garrett Fischer, Riley Benson) (SH)
16:43 – W/B – Michael Peterson (Kai McDonald)
3rd Period
1:40 – CROX – Tate Hamre (3) unassisted
6:01 – CROX – Jay Reese (5) (Garrett Fischer, Tate Hamre)
6:17 – CROX – Ryan Street (1) (Liam Larson)
11:23 – CROX – Teagan Lubinski (1) (Jay Reese, Conner Hanson)
| Goalie | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Total |
| Parker Kelly- Crox | 2 | 6 | 5 | 13 |
| Cale Gilbertson- W/B | 10 | 9 | 9 | 28 |
