The Crookston Pirates Boys Hockey team scored four second-period goals and Jack Ricord backstopped his first varsity shutout in an important Section 8A win by a 4-0 score over the Kittson County Central Bearcats.
The Pirates controlled the pace of play for long stretches of the first period firing a game-game high 17 shots on goal in the first period, but the Bearcats goaltender was up to the challenge keeping Crookston off the board. The Pirates Jack Ricord pitched a shutout in the first despite the Bearcats getting 12 shots on goal that came in bunches. “We played very well in the first period controlling play for much of the period,” said Pirates coach Josh Hardy. “We didn’t let Kittson get out of their zone too much, but it seemed like when they did, they would have a couple of bounces go their way leading to a flurry of shots.”
In the second period, the Pirates would break through four times including three special teams goals. Senior Eric Delorme picked up two power-play goals, his 16th, and 17th of the year, that were nearly identical. The first goal came with 14:48 to go in the second when Brock Heppner found Delorme standing alone in the left circle and he found the back of the net for a 1-0 lead. Five minutes later Logan Warder slid a puck to Delorme in the left circle, which Delorme threw it home for a 2-0 lead with 9:28 to go in the period. “In both cases, we did a nice job moving the puck along the right side of the ice pulling the defense over,” said Hardy. They kind of forgot about Eric on the left side and he was able to pick up a couple more goals tonight.” The Pirates would make it 3-0 when Quinn Westlake took a big hit along the wall but was able to kick the puck up to Jack Doda who came in all alone on the Bearcats goaltender and buried his 5th goal of the season with 6:48 to go in the second. “Quinn made a nice play and then Jack skated down the ice, made a nice move and beat the goaltender,” said Hardy. “We were without Ben Andringa tonight, who is out sick, and I was so impressed with the way Quinn played. It seems like we’ve been saying it a lot lately about him, but this was hands down the best game he’s ever played stepping up big and sliding to center.” The Pirates would make it 4-0 just over a minute later when Brock Heppner took a pass from Wardner and dumped the puck on net beating the goaltender with 5:09 to play in the period. For Wardner, it was his second assist of the night after missing the previous eight games with a concussion. “It’s nice to have him back, he brings a lot of energy,” said Hardy. “He’s not necessarily the first guy to crack a joke but he keeps guys positive. I know he was tired because he hasn’t played in a while but it was nice to have him back.”
In the third period, the Pirates opened the bench and were able to get some valuable varsity ice time for several players. “I thought Mason LaPlante had a very nice third period playing every other shift,” said Hardy. “We were able to kill off a penalty using Jade Selzer and Gavin Anderson, so they got some important minutes.” Jack Ricord would complete the shutout, the first of his varsity career, with seven saves in the third period. “Jack had his first shutout tonight and he played really well,” said Hardy. “He had some big saves on scrambles in front of our net. It’s an important win because this is a team [Kittson] that is going to be tough the next two years.”
The Pirates improve to 6-12-1 and will be off until next Tuesday, January 29 when they host the East Grand Forks Green Wave in another key Section 8A game at 7:30 p.m. at the Crookston Sports Center. Kittson County Central falls to 12-4-0.
JV – Crookston won 5-3
| Scoring | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final |
| CROOKSTON | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Kittson County Central | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
1st Period
No Scoring
2nd Period
14:44 Crookston – Eric Delorme (Brock Heppner) (PP)
9:28 – Crookston – Eric Delorme (Logan Wardner, Jacob Anderson) (PP)
6:48 – Crookston – Jack Doda (Quinn Westlake) (SH)
5:09 – Crookston -Brock Heppner (Logan Wardner)
3rd Period
No Scoring
| Saves | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Total |
| Wyatt Olsonawski – KCC | 17 | 11 | 11 | 39 |
| Jack Ricord – Crookston | 12 | 11 | 7 | 30 |
