Roseau’s Jasmine Hovda, just an eighth-grader, scored with just under six minutes to go in the game and led Roseau to a 3-2 win at the Crookston Sports Center in a terrific girl’s hockey game. “It was a good hockey game,” said Emily Meyer, Crookston’s coach, “both teams battled hard, and it was a battle to the end. It stings a little bit because of our senior night, but I was happy and proud how the whole team did play tonight.”
The last time the Crookston Pirate Girl’s Hockey team played the Roseau Rams was in Roseau on January 6, with the Pirates falling 6-2. Tonight in a rematch in Crookston and the Pirates knew they would have to be ready for the speed of Roseau from the beginning of the game, and they were. Both teams were flying up and down to start the game as they went seven minutes and 45 seconds without a whistle in the first period and only seven whistles in the period, which took about 20 minutes!!! “I was really happy the way we came out in the first period,” said coach Meyer, “we knew we had to as they caught us off guard up there. I think our play threw Roseau off guard. I don’t think they thought we would catch up to their speed, but we contained them a lot and played a lot of time in their zone. The only thing was we had to get more shots on their goalie.” The Pirates would score the only goal of the period. Their third line combined with just over three minutes left in the first period as the Pirates got it in the Roseau end. Junior Grace Fischer was in front of the Rams net and got clobbered but got back up, and her junior centerman, Jenna Seaver, laid a soft pass in front, and Fischer knocked it in, and the Pirates were up 1-0. “That line has been playing some great hockey lately,” said Meyer, “having Grace score that goal caused a big momentum shift. We put a lot of trust in that line, and it doesn’t matter who we put them out there against.” Crookston would go into the locker room with that 1-0 lead. “I love to see we were firing on all cylinders, we were skating fast, skating with them and controlling the game a lot,” said Meyer, “we told the girls that we have to stay with them, and as soon as we go on our heels that is when they’ll strike. We had to think it was a 0-0 game.
It didn’t take long for Crookston to get on the board in the second period, 28 seconds into it, Freshman Addie Fee had the puck at center ice and was moving quickly into the Roseau zone and coming with linemate Sophomore Reese Swanson on a two on one. Fee looked at Swanson, then looked at the Roseau goalie, Jada Pelowski, who gave Fee just a small target, and Fee picked the spot for the goal and gave Crookston a 2-0 lead. “It was a beautiful shot,” said Meyer. Fee said, “I was going into their zone, I saw Reese, but then I saw the the whole left side of the net was open, so I knew if I shot it, I would either score or a rebound for Reese. It was a wrist shot, lower left corner on the blocker side.” The goal evidently woke up the Green Giant as Roseau scored less than a minute later when their leading scorer and who will be going Division I next year, Memphis Mertens, and after a pass from Ginerva Johnson and Merten quickly went high and beat Pirate goalie Jaycee Larson, and it was 2-1 Crookston’s lead was cut in half. “We should have been prepared for Roseau kicking it up some more,” said Meyer, “we knew they were going to turn it up some point but didn’t know when.” The Rams would capitalize on the only penalty the Pirates had in the game when Samantha Peterson slipped a rebound in, and in just over five and a half minutes, there were three goals scored, two by Roseau to tie it up 2-2. “I think we lost our composure a little bit in that stretch,” said Meyer, “we started playing on our heels a little bit, and when we do that, we start running around and have breakdowns.” Nobody scored the other 11 and a half minutes, although both teams tried. The best opportunity was Roseau had two players standing in front of the Pirate goal, and Larson, when a shot was tipped high in the air, Larson was done, and the puck came down almost on top of her. Somehow Larson was able to find the puck and cover-up as the Rams had a wide-open net and didn’t score! “Jaycee did an amazing job in goal tonight,” said coach Meyer.
“We told the girl’s that it has been a long time since Crookston has beaten Roseau, at least 10 years (actually December 6, 2012, when Crookston beat Roseau 4-2 at Red Lake Falls),” said Meyer, “the fact that we’ve competed and played so well, we can go out there and pick up a win tonight.” The third period was like the first two periods, a lot of up and down the action, not much space to set up a pass or keep possession of the puck to set something up. Both teams allowed no time or space for the other. Crookston was having problems getting bodies in front to either get a pass in front or cause problems and screens for the Rams goalie. The Rams would get what would be the game-winner with 5:48 to go in the game, one of the better eighth-grade players in the State, Hovda, with outstanding speed, got in position when freshman Payton Remick put a quick shot on net that Larson just got a piece of, but the rebound was down in front and Hovda slid it in to give the Rams their first lead of the game at 3-2. The last minute and a half, at least, the Pirates were looking to pull their goalie, but Roseau was all over the Pirates in their zone, and Crookston couldn’t get anything anywhere near a scoring chance, and the game ended 3-2. “Like I said, it stings for our seniors, and the girls really wanted to win for them, but I think we played three periods of great hockey, and this game, even though a loss, can only help us,” said Meyer.
Crookston is now 13-7-1 on the year and has two more games, both at home, left of the regular season. Saturday, they host the Devils Lake (N.D.) Thunderbirds were beaten tonight by West Fargo United 9-2 to drop Devils Lake to 1-14. Game time is 1:00 PM, and it will be on KROX RADIO and the internet and the LIVE VIDEO STREAM, the KROX platforms. Crookston will close out the regular season on Tuesday with the rubber match with East Grand Forks, as both teams have beaten the other on each others ice.
Roseau improves to13-8-2 and will host Mounds View tomorrow night and finish off their regular season on Monday at Warroad.
No JV game as Roseau does not have a JV.
1st | 2nd | 3rd | Total | |
Roseau | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
CROOKSTON | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
1st Period
15:44 – Crox – Grace Fischer (4) (Jenna Seaver, Samantha Sanders)
2nd Period
0:28 – Crox – Addie Fee (14) unassisted
1:22 – Roseau – Memphis Mertens (Ginerva Johnson)
5:40 – Roseau – Samantha Peterson (Ginerva Johnson, Lily Erickson) (PP)
3rd Period
11:12 – Roseau – Jasmine Hovda (Payton Remick, Lily Erickson)
Saves | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final |
Jacey Larson – Crox | 6 | 11 | 15 | 32 |
Jada Pelowski – Ros | 3 | 7 | 5 | 15 |
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