Nora Peterson scored a hat trick to lead Crookston Girl’s hockey to a 4-2 win over International Falls in a non-Section game played at Bronco Arena in International Falls.
1st Period –
Crookston got off to a quick start with Nora Peterson scoring her first goal of the day just 2:42 into the first period giving the Pirates a 1-0 lead. “Nora did a really good job shooting the puck all game today starting early,” explained Crookston head coach Tim Moe. “She scored early just finding a loose puck and firing it past their goaltender right in front of the net.” The visitors added a second goal on the power play with 9:10 to play in the first period with Nora Peterson netting her second goal, increasing Crookston’s lead to 2-0. “Nora was back behind the net. She got a loose puck. Faked like she was going one way for a wraparound and went the other way for putting it into an empty net.” Pirates goaltender Kailee Magsam stopped all three shots she faced in the period as Crookston took a 2-0 lead into the first intermission. “We played really well in that first period,” added Moe. “The shots were very one-sided, and somehow we didn’t have bus legs after a long trip. We really started off well.”
2nd Period –
International Falls cut their deficit in half with 11:40 to play in the second period. Emma Erickson scored on the power play trimming the Broncos’ deficit down to 2-1. Rylee Solheim answered with a short-handed goal less than three minutes later, giving Crookston a 3-1 lead heading into the final period. “I think in the second period, we thought this game would be a little easier than it ended up being,” noted Moe. “We didn’t get after it good enough in that period. Rylee did a fantastic job on her goal. She came up from her defensive position, winning a race in the neutral zone and beating her match-up down the ice on a breakaway to get her first goal of the season. She’s a big part of our team on the defensive end, so for her to get her first goal this year was fantastic.”
3rd Period –
The Broncos showed plenty of life to start the final period pulling within one goal early in the third. Emma Erickson scored her second goal of the night with 14:57 to play bringing International Falls back within 3-2. Kailee Magsam stopped the final three shots she faced in net for Crookston, which clamped down defensively. “We still didn’t have that sense of urgency to start the third period,” said Moe. “We’ve sort of lost that recently. We let them claw their way back in it. Emma Erickson is a fantastic hockey player, and she showed it twice today.” With 2:59 to play and the Pirates back on the power play, Nora Peterson completed her hat trick. Morgan Nelson cycled the puck to Raina Satrom, who set up Peterson for the game’s final goal, increasing Crookston’s lead back to 4-2. “Nore scored on a five-minute major after Catherine Tiedemann was hit from behind,” explained Moe. We ended the game on the power play, which was big for us. We keep telling Nora to shoot the puck more. She shot that goal from the faceoff dot and beat the goalie.” Magsam finished the night with ten saves to preserve the Pirates 4-2 win. “We got out of this game healthy,” summarized Moe. “That’s the goal when you’re this close to the playoffs. I’d like to see us get our sense of urgency back, but we got all 18 skaters on the ice for plenty of time today, and whenever you make these long road trips, that’s a goal.”
Crookston improves to 10-13. The Pirates return to the ice on Tuesday when Crookston hosts Bemidji at 7:30 P.M. International Falls drops to 0-19-1.
| Scoring | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final |
| CROOKSTON | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| International Falls | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
1st Period
14:18 – CROX – Nora Peterson (unassisted)
9:10 – CROX – Nora Peterson (unassisted) PP
2nd Period
11:40 – IF – Emma Erickson (unassisted) PP
8:52 – CROX – Rylee Solheim (unassisted) SH
3rd Period
14:57 – IF – Emma Erickson (unassisted)
2:59 – CROX – Nora Peterson (Raina Satrom, Morgan Nelson) PP
| Saves | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final |
| Kailee Magsam – CROX | 3 | 4 | 3 | 10 |
| Macey Marcotte – IF | 12 | 6 | 9 | 27 |
