CROOKSTON GIRL’S HOCKEY BEATS DETROIT LAKES, SECURES HOME ICE FOR PLAY-IN GAME

The Crookston Girl’s Hockey team secured home ice for the Section 8A Tournament play-in game after completing a regular-season sweep over Detroit Lakes 3-2 in a Section 8A game played at Kent Freeman Arena in Detroit Lakes.

1st Period –
Detroit Lakes generated more scoring opportunities in a tepid first period, but Crookston’s goaltender Grace Koshney stopped all eight shots she faced in the first 17 minutes. Detroit Lakes goaltender Leah Honer kept an empty net with five saves in the opening frame as the two teams skated to a scoreless first period. “We had a long three-on-five penalty kill,” noted Crookston head coach Tim Moe. “That’s where (Detroit Lakes) got most of their shots. We did a pretty nice job of keeping them to the outside. Grace Koshney played pretty well. She has to be our best penalty killer, and she was in that scenario. We went and talked to the girls after the period because we thought we were too relaxed. We didn’t play with a sense of urgency, and we were on our heels most of the time. We had plenty of zone time, but we couldn’t get shots to the net.”

2nd Period –
The two sides appeared destined for a scoreless first two period, but Crookston managed to break through with a goal late in the second period. With Detroit Lakes on the powerplay, Rylee Solheim sent a pass to Nora Peterson, who set up Raina Satrom for a goal with 3:24 to play in the period giving the Pirates a 1-0 lead. “The top-line played extremely well,” said Moe. “It was a nice play by Nora Peterson. She knocked the puck off the boards in the neutral zone before skating in on a two-on-one. (Nora) pulled the defender over to her, and Raina (Satrom) kind of fanned on the first shot, but in the scramble, she was able to get back to the puck and knock it in.” The Lakers had just two shots in the second period allowing Crookston to take a 1-0 lead into the final period. “We had a tough time solving their goaltender (Leah Honer),” noted Moe after the Pirates outshot Detroit Lakes 16-2 in the second period. “We played with a sense of urgency, and they had a tough time getting the puck out of their zone. We did a nice job forechecking the puck.”

3rd Period –
Crookston appeared to put the game away with 10:06 to play after Crookston’s top line scored its second goal of the night. Cassie Solheim and Raina Satrom passed the puck to one another before Satrom fired a pass to Nora Peterson, where the Pirates’ leading scorer deposited the puck in the net, giving the visitors a 2-0 lead. “They forechecked extremely hard and were able to get a loose puck to Nora in the slot area,” said Moe. “Both the second and third goals were very similar where we got the puck in the slot and had some traffic in front. We were able to shoot the puck into one of the top corners through a screen.” Detroit Lakes cut the lead in half with 6:29 to play after Madyson Melgard scored. Crookston added what proved to be the game-winner 1:01 later. With the Pirates top-line on the ice, Cassie Solheim completed the trifecta of top-line scoring netting a goal assisted by Satrom and Peterson to put the game away with Crookston in front 3-1. “It was nice for all three of them to get on the score sheet,” added Moe. “Cassie probably would’ve assisted on the first goal too, but she wasn’t on the ice because we were killing penalties. Those three are continuing to work really well together. They’re extremely dangerous when they’re passing around the puck and working well together like they were tonight.” With 0:53 to play, Detroit Lakes pulled within one goal on Madyson Melgard’s second score of the night, but Grace Koshney’s 21 saves proved to be enough as the Pirates secured a pivotal 3-2 win. “You always want to play better,” summarized Moe. “But, we persevered and were able to kill off a five-on-three, which is something we haven’t really practiced all that much. There are positives too. We controlled large portions of play, but it’s the story of our season where sometimes we do that, but we can’t bury the puck enough for the scoreboard to match the effort we put out.”

Crookston improves to 9-12 on the year. The Pirates return to the ice on Thursday to take on Devils Lake at 7:30 P.M. Detroit Lakes falls to 3-18.

1st Period
No Scoring

2nd Period
3:24 – CROX – Raina Satrom (Nora Peterson, Rylee Solheim) SH

3rd Period
10:06 – CROX – Nora Peterson (Raina Satrom, Cassie Solheim)
6:29 – DL – Madyson Melgard (Emma Coley)
5:28 – CROX – Cassie Solheim (Raina Satrom, Nora Peterson)
0:53 – DL – Madyson Melgard (Payton Schiltz)