The Warroad Warriors looked the part of the #2 ranked team in the state in a convincing 12-0 win over the Crookston Pirates Girl’s hockey team in a Section 8A Tournament semifinal game played at Ralph Engelstad Arena in Thief River Falls.
1st Period –
Warroad started the scoring early and often in the opening period. Sydney Phaneuf took a breakaway in on Crookston’s net, sending a shot into the net, giving the Warriors a 1-0 lead 45-seconds into the game. “That first goal was just a bad bounce over our defender’s stick and sent their player in on a breakaway,” said Crookston head coach Tim Moe. “I thought we had good zone time after that, but we just couldn’t breakthrough.” Lila Lanctot added a second goal with 11:18 left in the first period with a slap shot from the blue line giving Warroad a 2-0 lead. Hannah Corneliusen scored her 51st goal of the season with 10:05 to play in the opening frame with a hard wrist shot from the slot to make it 3-0. Abbey Hardwick spun around and fired a low wrister into the net with 6:47 to play in the first period giving the top-seed a 4-0 lead. Just 34-seconds later, Tayla Hendrickson dragged the puck across the crease before tucking a shot inside the far post increasing Warroad’s lead to 5-0. Hannah Corneliusen added her second goal of the first period with 1:06 to play in the opening period with a shot into the top of the net blocker-side giving the Warriors a 6-0 lead after one period. “They shoot the puck hard and they were bigger, faster, and stronger than we were,” explained Moe. “It’s tough to stop a puck that’s coming in really hard and you can’t see. They had traffic in front of the net. They were wide open in front of the net. They just move so well without the puck. I think that’s really the big difference between where we are as programs right now. They are five people out on the ice all working in unison. We’ve got some skill, but we’re not quite there yet. We had some chances, but we maybe forgot about some defensive assignments at times.”
2nd Period –
In the second period, Warroad went deeper into their bench but still managed to add to their lead. With 13:57 to play in the second period, Karlie Meeker scored on the power play increasing the Warriors’ lead to 7-0. Syndey Pahneuf added her second goal of the game 1:42, later pushing the top-seed in front 8-0. Phaneuf capped off her hat trick with a scramble in front of the Crookston’s net, allowing Phaneuf to deflect the puck into the net, giving Warroad a 9-0 lead. Crookston’s goaltender Grace Koshney returned to the net to start the second period for the Pirates and made 12 saves in the period to keep Crookston’s deficit at 9-0 heading into the final period. “We didn’t get any shots in that period, somehow, so (Warroad) must have had the puck in our zone quite a bit,” added Moe. “I think we did a better job getting in their way and taking their hands away from them. That’s something we had a really hard time within the first period. That was probably the biggest thing we were able to take away from them in the second period. We were able to kill off a five-on-three and actually get a breakaway to Raina Satrom at one point. She was taken down, and the officials said in hindsight they wish she gave her the penalty shot instead of the power play. It was close. It’s unfortunate for us that we weren’t able to capitalize on that opportunity.”
3rd Period –
Warroad added three more goals while displaying their depth in the final period. Tayla Hendrickson scored her second goal of the night with 12:40 to play increasing the Warriors’ lead to 10-0. Julianna Teske added a goal assisted by Madison LaVergne with 9:01 remaining increasing the lead to 11-0. Sydney Phaneuf added her fourth goal for the final score of the night with 4:56 to play, giving Warroad a 12-0 advantage. Warroad goaltender Kendra Nordick stopped all five shots she faced in the game to preserve the 12-0 shutout victory. “It’s always sad when the season is done,” summarized Moe. “From where we’ve come from at the start of the year, we got so much better. We really have improved and have come a long way. We’ve got a lot of scoring coming back. A lot of goaltending coming back. All of our top four defensemen are coming back. Now that they’ve seen what they need to do, I expect a great offseason. We’re going to get in that weight room to get bigger, faster, and stronger. We’re going to be shooting pucks all summer so we can go out and compete against a team like Warroad.”
The Pirates graduate seniors Kaydin Brule, Breck Fugleberg, Taylor Garrett, and Kylee Meier, who left a significant impact on this program, according to Moe, “I’ve told them this numerous times throughout the season. Anything we do in the future is going to be based on the time these seniors put in. They gave us so much effort. From where this group came as sophomores, when I rejoined the program, to where we are now is a testament to them as both people and hockey players. I’m so proud of them and all that they’ve accomplished to put Crookston girl’s hockey back on the map in Minnesota.”
After the second semifinal game, the All-Section Awards were handed out. Goaltender Grace Koshney was named First Team All-Section 8A while forward Nora Peterson earned Section Team All-Section 8A. Pirates head coach Tim Moe was named Section 8A Coach of the Year. Moe was quick to praise his team’s accomplishments this year as, “reflecting the team’s improvement this year. It shows how much we continued to grow as this season went on. It’s really a credit to the work all of our girls put in all season.”
Crookston ends its season with a 12-14 record. Warroad improves to 20-4-2 advancing to the Section Championship Thursday against Thief River Falls.
| Scoring | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final |
| CROOKSTON | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Warroad | 6 | 3 | 3 | 12 |
1st Period
16:15 – Warroad – Sydney Phaneuf (Unassisted)
11:18 – Warroad – Lila Lanctot (Geno Hendrickson)
10:05 – Warroad – Hannah Corneliusen (Geno Hendrickson, Karlie Meeker)
6:47 – Warroad – Abbey Hardwick (Hannah Corneliunsen)
6:13 – Warroad – Tayla Hendrickson (Geno Hendrickson, Sydney Phaneuf)
1:06 – Warroad – Hannah Corneliusen (Unassisted)
2nd Period
13:57 – Warroad – Karlie Meeker (Geno Hendrickson, Tayla Hendrickson) (PP)
12:15 – Warroad – Sydney Phaneuf (Geno Hendrickson)
3:53 – Warroad – Sydney Phaneuf (Geno Hendrickson)
3rd Period
12:40 – Warroad – Tayla Hendrickson (Sydney Phaneuf, Geno Hendrickson)
9:01 – Warroad – Julianna Teske (Madison LaVergne)
4:56 – Warroad – Sydney Phaneuf (Tayla Hendrickson, Geno Hendrickson)
| Saves | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final |
| Grace Koshney – CROX | 7 | 12 | 1 | 20 |
| Kailee Magsam – CROX | 4 | X | 1 | 5 |
| Kendra Nordick – WAR | 3 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
