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CROOKSTON PIRATE BOYS HOCKEY FALLS IN OVERTIME TO PARK RAPIDS 4-3

January 4, 2024

The Crookston Pirate Boys Hockey team fell overtime to Park Rapids 4-3 at Ted O. Johnson Arena in Park Rapids.

FIRST PERIOD
The game started with both teams getting shot opportunities on both ends as the goalies of Parker Kelly for Crookston and Sawyer Torkelson for Park Rapids stood tall early. Later in the first, Jay Reese was out front of the net and had a rebound chance but was saved by Torkelson. Parker Vinge had a shot from a dangerous opportunity for Park Rapids, but Kelly denied him and kept the game scoreless with 7 minutes left. Later in the period, Jeron Pinoniemi picked off a pass, raced into the Panthers’ offensive zone, and fired a shot into the net to give Park Rapids a 1-0 lead. With three minutes left in the period, the Pirates were shorthanded, and Teagen Lubinski took the puck into the offensive zone and got a good shot off, but Torkelson stopped the shot. Crookston was able to kill off the penalty, but Park Rapids would hold a 1-0 lead after the first.

SECOND PERIOD
Early in the second period, Park Rapids would get called for a penalty that would send the Pirates to the power play for the first time. Crookston could get a few shots off, but the Panthers would successfully kill off the power play. About a minute later, Crookston would head back to the power play, but the Panthers would also kill that off. A few seconds later, Jay Reese would feed a pass for Greyson Ecker, who fired the puck into the net to tie the game up at 1. Two minutes later, Parker Vinge sent a pass over to Jeron Pinoniemi, who scored for the second time in the game to give Park Rapids a 2-1 lead. With a minute and a half left, Finn Henry for Park Rapids had his shot go off the post and stay out to keep the game at 2-1. Park Rapids would hold the one-goal advantage into the third period.

THIRD PERIOD
Three minutes into the period, Cooper Brovold added to the Park Rapids lead as he scored to give Park Rapids a 3-1 lead as Pinoniemi would pick up his third point of the night with an assist on the goal. Later, the Panther’s offense would continue to develop chances as Kale Ravnaas was out in front with a wide-open net, but the puck trickled just wide of the goal, keeping it a 3-1 game. Crookston’s Jay Reese once again set up Greyson Ecker out in front as Ecker collected his second goal of the game and made it 3-2, Park Rapids still with the lead. About a minute later, Riley Benson’s shot went wide of the net, and Jay Reese took the puck and got a wrap-around goal that tied the game at three halfway through the third. Crookston would head to the power play with just under four minutes left in regulation. The Pirates called their timeout but could not score as the game would remain tied after regulation, setting up the Pirates first overtime game of the season.

Overtime
In the extra period, Park Rapids quickly had an offensive opportunity that Parker Kelly was able to freeze, which created an offensive zone faceoff for the Panthers. Park Rapids took advantage of the faceoff, and Parker Vinge centered a pass for Joshua Hillukka, who scored for the Panthers to give them the 4-3 overtime win.

Crookston drops to 6-5 on the season and will take on Bailey/Fosston on Tuesday. Park Rapids improves to 6-3-1 on the season and will take on Kittson County Central on Saturday.

Click here for Coach Hardy’s post-game interview.

Scoring	1st	2nd	3rd	OT	Final
Park Rapids	1	1	1	1	4
Crookston	0	1	2	0	3

1st Period
11:40 – PR – Jeron Pinoniemi (Unassisted)

2nd Period
9:57 – Crox – Greyson Ecker (4) (Jay Reese)
11:34 – PR – Jeron Pinoniemi (2) (Parker Vinge)

3rd Period
3:14 – PR – Cooper Brovold (Jeron Pinoniemi, Parker Vinge)
8:45 – Crox – Greyson Ecker (5) (Jay Reese)
9:34 – Crox – Jay Reese (3) (Riley Benson)

Overtime
0:52 – PR – Joshua Hillukka (Parker Vinge)