The Crookston Pirate Boys Hockey team hung with the Detroit Lakes Lakers at the beginning, but the Lakers were too much as they scored 5 in the third period en route to an 8-1 win over the Pirates at Kent Freeman Arena on Monday night.
FIRST PERIOD
As the first period began, Detroit Lakes (DL) had a step up on puck possession, as they established a great forecheck in the opening minutes of the period. This culminated in a shot from the blue line by Bauer Walter beating Brady Chandler, and the Lakers jumped out in front 1-0. The Lakers had another good look a few minutes later from 4th liner Zander Burgesen, but his shot hit the right post and stayed out. When the Pirates did get the puck, they aimed to make the most of it, as they got many good looks on Griffin Lindberg, but he made saves on the first 5 shots he faced. However, the 6th one got by him, as Garrett Fischer perfectly tipped in a shot from Isaiah Donarski at 12:01, and that tied the period at 1. Then, with 1:53 to go in the period, the Pirates got on the power play, and got a great look from Liam Larson, but Lindberg robbed him with a great glove save. The Pirates would then commit a penalty with 19 seconds to go in the period, giving DL 1:41 of power play time to start the second period, with the game tied at 1.
SECOND PERIOD
The Lakers started the second period with a power play, and got two good looks, but Brady Chandler made both saves in net for the Pirates. However, the Pirates committed another penalty within 20 seconds of the game going back to 5-on-5, and this time the Lakers were keen to score, as Henry Olson buried a rebound on the power play to put the Lakers up 2-1. The Pirates were kept away from the net for much of the period, but especially in the middle, where they did not get a shot on goal for over three minutes. In this stretch, the Pirates committed yet another penalty, and off the first face off of the power play, Will Cymbaluk made a beautiful move to beat Chandler, and the Lakers took a 3-1 lead. The Pirates got a few shots on goal in the final stages of the period, but they were all stopped by Lindberg. The Pirates did get some life at the end of the period, though, as a minor penalty in the final seconds gave the Pirates 1:46 of power play time to start the 3rd, down 3-1.
THIRD PERIOD
In the third period, the Pirates got 1:46 of power play time to start, and got one shot on goal, but it was stopped by Lindberg. That would be one of only 4 shots the Pirates would get in the period, as the wheels began to fall off. The Lakers took complete control, scoring at will. This started with their third power play of the game, scored by Bauer Walter to put them up 4-1. To that point, 3 of their 4 goals were scored on the power play, but the final 4 were scored at 5-on-5. They scored at 5:16 on a deflection in front from Sully Braaten, followed by 2 goals in 35 seconds by Carter Whitworth. This sent the game into running time, and a dagger with 15 seconds left ended things giving the Lakers an 8-1 win.
Crookston drops to 13-9-1 and will play Wahpeton/Breckenridge on Tuesday at 4 PM due to Political Caucus Night. DL is now 14-8 on the year.
JV – Crookston won 2-1
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final |
| Crookston | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Detroit Lakes | 1 | 2 | 5 | 8 |
1st Period
2:43 – DL – Bauer Walter (Hudson Pettit, Sully Braaten)
12:01 – Crookston – Garrett Fischer (Isaiah Donarski)
2nd Period
4:11 – DL (PP) – Henry Olson (Rhett Walter)
9:40 – DL (PP) – Will Cymbaluk
3rd Period
2:37 – DL (PP) – Bauer Walter (Rhett Walter, Will Cymbaluk)
5:16 – DL – Sully Braaten (Will Cymbaluk, Bauer Walter)
13:07 – DL – Carter Whitworth (Will Cymbaluk, Sully Braaten)
13:42 – DL – Carter Whitworth
16:45 – DL – Hank Schlauderaff (Bauer Walter)
| Goalie | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Total |
| Brady Chandler – Crox | 12 | 14 | 4 | 30 |
| Griffin Lindberg – DL | 7 | 7 | 5 | 19 |
