The Crookston Pirate Boys Hockey team had more than enough offense to outpace the Kittson County Central Bearcats, taking them down 8-4 at the Crookston Sports Center on Thursday night.
FIRST PERIOD
As the first period got started, it became apparent that the Pirates had the ability to dominate the game, and they were showing it early, as they recorded the first 14 shots of the game. However, initially, KCC goaltender David Kaul was up to the task, stopping the first 7 shots he faced, including 4 on the only Pirate power play of the period. However, once the period reached its middle stages, the Pirates broke through in a big way, as they scored 3 goals in 48 seconds. The first one came from Jay Reese at 7:55, sniping one under the right pad of Kaul, followed by Grant Funk on an unassisted breakaway, and then lastly followed by Tate Hamre, who banked a shot in off the backside of Kaul to quickly make it 3-0. The Pirates only got 4 shots on goal in the final 6 minutes, and in this stretch the Bearcats were able to get their first 5 shots on goal, including two power plays from a Pirate hooking penalty and one for too many men on the ice. However, Teegyn Johnson was able to stop them all, and the Pirates took the 3-0 lead into the second period.
SECOND PERIOD
In the second period, things began the same way as the first period went, with the Pirates consistently peppering Kaul in net and allowing next to nothing in return. This all culminated in Jay Reese scoring his second of the night at 2:42 to put the Pirates up 4-0, immediately followed by Isaiah Donarski, who scored one just over 2 minutes later to boost the Pirate lead to 5-0. From there, the Pirates began to bring in reserves for extra ice time, and the Bearcats were able to take advantage of this, as after a cross-checking penalty, Jaxton Hemmes hit the post, and then scored immediately after to put the Bearcats on the board, at 5-1. The Bearcats then followed that up with their best play of the period, as they controlled the puck consistently for the next 6 minutes, stopping any Pirate advancements. Then, after Eli Muir hit the post, he came back on a breakaway of his own and scored, cutting the lead to 5-2 with less than 3 minutes left. The Pirates had the last word, however, as Greyson Ecker Beat Kaul top shelf with 1:37 remaining, and the Pirates took a 6-2 lead into the second intermission.
THIRD PERIOD
The third period got started with the Pirates repeating what they did the first two periods, which was jump on the Bearcats immediately. Jay Reese drew an early tripping penalty, and Tate Hamre was able to capitalize by scoring on the power play, pushing the Pirates ahead 7-2. From there, the period stayed deadlocked at that score for nearly 10 minutes, before yet another Pirate power play gave KCC an opportunity to answer, and Clarence Przekwas scored by beating Johnson short side to cur the lead down to 7-3. Crookston had an answer a minute later, though, as Gavin Aakhus scored on a great rebound when Kaul thought he had the puck frozen, and the Pirates took an 8-3 lead. Though the Bearcats scored their 3rd power play goal of the game with 11 seconds left, the Pirates were able to hold on for an 8-4 victory.
Crookston improves to 10-6-1 on the year, 5-4 in the section. KCC is now 5-13, 3-6 in section play.
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final |
| KCC | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Crookston | 3 | 3 | 2 | 8 |
1st Period
7:55 – Crookston – Jay Reese (Garrett Fischer, Greyson Ecker)
8:22 – Crookston – Grant Funk
8:43 – Crookston – Tate Hamre (Masen Reitmeier)
2nd Period
2:42 – Crookston – Jay Reese (Garrett Fischer, Greyson Ecker)
5:00 – Crookston – Isaiah Donarski (Garrett Fischer, Jay Reese)
8:48 – KCC (PP) – Jaxton Hemmes (Kamden Gullickson-Palmer)
14:47 – KCC – Eli Muir
15:23 – Crookston – Greyson Ecker (Garrett Fischer, Jay Reese)
3rd Period
3:06 – Crookston (PP) – Tate Hamre (Jay Reese, Greyson Ecker)
12:40 – KCC (PP) – Clarence Przekwas (Kamden Gullickson-Palmer, Eli Muir)
13:46 – Crookston – Gavin Aakhus (Liam Larson)
16:49 – KCC (PP) – Clarence Przekwas (Jaxton Hemmes)
| Goalie | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Total |
| Teegyn Johnson – Crox | 5 | 4 | 3 | 12 |
| David Kaul – KCC | 12 | 11 | 12 | 35 |
