Landon Parker had a hat trick in the first period on his way to a Texas hat trick, and Mason Poolman added a hat trick as the #5 ranked East Grand Forks Green Wave defeated the Crookston Pirates Boys Hockey team 10-1 in the Section 8A Quarterfinals played at the East Grand Forks Civic Center.
1st Period
The Pirates got off to a nice start to this Section 8A quarterfinal winning three of the first five faceoffs and registering the first shot on goal. But the Green Wave were able to strike first and take command when Nathaniel Emery centered a puck to Brody Schultz, who slid it down the top left corner of the crease for Landon Parker, who backhanded it for a 1-0 lead with 14:17 left in the period. Parker would make it 2-0 just 55 seconds later when Jackson Panzer carried in two-on-one and got the puck to Parker in front for his second of the night. The Pirates would get a powerplay midway through the period but were unable to sustain pressure before committing a penalty of their own late in the period. The Green Wave cycled the puck nicely on the powerplay but were unable to score. However, just after the penalty ended, Parker picked up a loose puck at the bottom of the right circle and wired a wrist shot through five skaters under the crossbar for the hat trick and a 3-0 lead. “That’s a backbreaker,” said Hardy. “The first goal was a beautiful goal which as a beautiful tic-tac-toe play. After that, I thought we were good, pressured them, had some chances while playing the game we needed to play. But then that third one was a backbreaker. Going in, we know if we give up three goals, we’re likely not coming back, and that’s a tough pill to swallow.” East Grand Forks outshot the Pirates 17-4 in the first.
2nd Period
The Green Wave kept rolling in the second period, and it started with 14:13 to go when Schultz found Emery, who’d score to make it 4-0. Pirates goaltender Noah Dragseth played well over the next 10 minutes to keep the score 4-0, but the constant pressure by East Grand Forks would prove to be too much as with 4:37 left in the period Mason Poolman took a pass from Panzer and put the green wave up 5-0. Two minutes later, Parker would get his fourth of the night, making it 6-0. Right off the faceoff, the Green Wave was back on the offensive as it took just 24 seconds for Poolman to get his second goal and make it 7-0. The Pirates would get a powerplay, and their lone goal of the game when a mass of bodies hit the ice in front of the net, and Quinn Westlake scored from his knees to make it 7-1 with 48 seconds left in the period. “It was a big week for Quinn, and he works his tail off,” said Hardy. “And that’s a credit to his parents. He has great parents. We talk about this group of seniors being down and how good these kids are, but the thing is, we have eight seniors and eight sets of parents who are done. In my seven years hear we have great groups of parents. I’m going to miss this group of seniors.” However, 24 seconds later, the Green Wave would score again when Panzer fired a shot off the goaltenders stick and into the net for an 8-1 lead. “We talked before the period that we had to push the first six to nine minutes,” said Hardy. “But things fell apart there at the end of the period. It was disappointing, and I think the guys saw the writing on the wall.” The Green Wave outshot the Pirates 30-3 in the second period.
3rd Period
With the clock running in the third period, the Green Wave would add two more goals before the final horn. The first came with seconds to go in a five-minute major against the Pirates when Mason Poolman batted home a rebound to complete his hat trick, making it 9-1 with 12:40 to play. Tanner Lubinski would add a goal with 55 seconds to play shoving the puck inside the left post to make it 10-1. The Green Wave outshot the Pirates 10-1 in the third. The Pirates spent about seven minutes on the ice following the game, chatting and hugging. And Coach Hardy talked after the game about how this team has been close, like family, maybe more than any team he’s coached. “I think that’s maybe the big team about being in smalltown too,” said Hardy. “These guys grow up together, they’ve been playing together since they were little tykes. That’s a real family and brotherhood of guys there. It was emotional in the locker room. You might play football from seventh-grade on, but you play hockey since they were four or five years old. It’s a big part of their lives gone now, and that is a lot of emotion tied to that.”
The Pirates say goodbye to their eight seniors who played their last Pirate hockey game – Leyton Salentine, Ty Hamre, Quinn Westlake, Ben Andringa, Joey Doda, Peyton Swanson, Nick Schulz, and Jade Selzler.
The Pirates season ends with the loss and a record of 5-22. The Green Wave improve to 19-4-2 on the year and will play Thief River Falls in the Section 8A semifinals on Saturday at the Ralph Engelstad Arena in Thief River Falls.
| Scoring | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final |
| CROOKSTON | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| East Grand Forks | 3 | 5 | 2 | 10 |
1st Period
14:17 – EGF – Landon Parker (Brody Schultz, Nathaniel Emery)
13:22 – EGF – Landon Parker (Jacksen Panzer)
1:32 – EGF – Landon Parker (Unassisted)
2nd Period
14:13 – EGF – Nathaniel Emery (Brody Schultz, Garrett Beauchamp)
4:37 – EGF – Mason Poolman (Jacksen Panzer, Trey Ausmus)
2:48 -EGF – Landon Parker (Unassisted)
2:24 – EGF – Mason Poolman (Jacksen Panzer)
0:48 – CROX – Quinn Westlake (Joey Doda, Leyton Salentine) (PP)
0:28 – EGF – Jacksen Panzer (Cooper Holm, Mason Poolman)
3rd Period
12:40 – EGF – Mason Poolman (Logan Spencer, Landon Parker) (PP)
:55 – EGF – Tanner Lubinski (Garrett Beauchamp)
| Saves | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final |
| Noah Dragseth – Crox | 14 | 25 | x | 39 |
| Carter Nelson – Crox | x | x | 9 | 9 |
| Austin Cooley – EGF | 4 | 2 | x | 6 |
| Kaden Robinson – EGF | x | x | 1 | 1 |
