CROOKSTON PIRATE BOYS HOCKEY’S LATE RALLY COMES UP SHORT AGAINST BEMIDJI

The Crookston Pirate Boy’s Hockey team fell behind 3-0, but two goals from Jack Doda in the closing minutes weren’t enough as Bemidji survived for a 3-2 win in a non-Section game played at the Crookston Sports Center.

First Period –
Bemidji opened the scoring just 1:12 into the game. Connor Savard slapped a shot past Crookston goaltender Noah Dragseth giving Bemidji a 1-0 lead. The Lumberjacks capitalized on their first power-play opportunity to double their lead. With 9:32 to play in the opening period, Gage Molstad received a pass across the offensive zone from Ethan Mock and fired the puck into the net, putting the visitors in front 2-0. Bemidji goaltender Andrew Johanns kept a clean sheet through one period making four saves as the Lumberjacks took a 2-0 lead into the first intermission. “The conversation we had between the first and second periods was that we have to quit making excuses,” explained Crookston head coach Josh Hardy. “We can’t keep pointing fingers at each other. Part of being a young man is that you have to own some of your mistakes. It wasn’t an Xs and Os conversation. It was more about owning our mistakes. I think they took that to heart and picked each other up. On the first goal, a guy gets wide with a bad angle shot that sneaks in, and then we gave up a power-play goal. That has kind of been the bain of our team this year.”

Second Period –
Despite 21 combined shots on goal, the score was unchanged during the second period. Bemidji failed to capitalize on two power-plays while the Pirates couldn’t place any of their ten second period shots by Andrew Johanns, but did take 1:10 of power-play into the third period trailing 2-0. “Talking to (Bemidji) coach (Pete) Staehnke after the game, he told me, ‘you guys just had the energy in the second and third periods, and we didn’t have an answer for you,'” added Hardy. “It was good for us to get out there and push. With high school kids, it’s all about momentum. If you get a couple of good shifts, everyone forgets how bad we played in the first period and remembers we can do this.”

Third Period –
Bemidji appeared to put the game out of reach with 11:48 to play when Nate Mannausau scored an unassisted goal giving the Lumberjacks a 3-0 lead. Jack Doda answered back just 1:37 later, scoring a short-handed break-away goal blocker side trimming the Pirates’ deficit down to 3-1. “I thought we were playing well and not getting rewarded,” said Hardy. “Jack blocks a shot and, it squeaks out, and he skates down all alone. If you put a kid like that and give him time and space like that, he’s going to score more times than not. It was good to see him hammer that one home.” With 5:20 remaining, Joey Doda sent a pass to Jack Doda, who skated the puck up the ice and trickled a close-range shot into the net, bringing Crookston within 3-2. “We had talked about keeping it simple,” noted Hardy. “We’re dealing with injuries. We’re kind of mixing guys in and out and, it worked to our advantage. We got a little bit lucky and, a puck flops out, Jack takes it and squeaks one in.” The Pirates continued to pepper Bemidji goaltender Andrew Johanns with shots during the closing minutes with an extra skater on the ice and empty net, but it wasn’t enough as the Lumberjacks hung on for a 3-2 win. “I thought for the better part of the game, really for two periods there, we were the better hockey team,” said Hardy. “When you spot a team a lead early in the first (period), we kind of got behind the 8-ball, but I’m incredibly proud of how we responded. It says a lot about the character of our team and the leaders in our locker room that we were able to have that poor start and still come out and play some of our best hockey of the year in those last two periods.”

Crookston falls to 0-13. The Pirates return to the ice on Thursday when Crookston travels to Park Rapids for a 7:30 P.M. puck drop on KROX. Bemidji improves to 3-10-1.

1st Period
15:48 – Bemidji – Connor Savard (unassisted)
9:32 – Bemidji – Gage Mostad (Ethan Mock, Connor Savard) PP

2nd Period
No scoring

3rd Period
11:48 – Bemidji – Nate Mannausau (unassisted)
10:11 – Crookston – Jack Doda (unassisted) SH
5:20 – Crookston – Jack Doda (Joey Doda) PP