The Crookston Pirate Girl’s Hockey team scored in bunches and had six different girls score on their way to a 6-0 victory over the International Falls Broncos in a game played at the Crookston Sports Center. Crookston outshot the Broncos 47-4 in the game.
FIRST PERIOD –
Crookston dominated play early in the game while getting five shots on goal in the first five minutes. Three of the shots were high-quality scoring chances, but the International Falls goalie was able to make the save. Crookston continued to pepper the International Falls goalie and had five more shots on goal and was outshooting the Broncos 13-1 when the Pirates were finally able to score their first goal of the game. With 2:28 remaining in the period, Morgan Nelson shot from the point was about shoulder pad high and the puck found its way through traffic into the back of the net for a 1-0 lead. “Morgan does such a nice job out at the point for us,” said Pirate Coach Tim Moe. “We have been working on our defensemen getting the puck to the net and she did that and it was nice to see her get rewarded.”
Off the ensuing faceoff at center-ice, Crookston won the faceoff and Nelson slid a pass to Samantha Sanders who scored 10 seconds after the first Pirate goal and the Pirates led 2-0 with 2:18 left in the period. “It was nice to see how unselfish Morgan was on that play. She could have shot it from the top of the circle,” said Coach Moe. “She sucked the defender over to her and got the puck to Samantha and she was able to score. It was a nice play.” Neither team scored the rest of the way and Crookston took a 2-0 lead into the first intermission.
SECOND PERIOD –
The Pirates picked up where they left off at the start of the second period when Raina Satrom put a shot on goal and the rebound went to Nora Peterson and her shot was stopped, but Crookston set the tone early in the period.
The first penalty of the game came three and a half minutes into the period and Crookston was shorthanded after a cross-checking call. It didn’t slow the Pirates down. Crookston had a golden opportunity halfway through the penalty when Peterson found Catherine Tiedemann in front of the net, but the puck went off the edge of Tiedemann’s stick and she didn’t get a solid shot on goal. Crookston fought off the penalty and with six seconds left in the Pirate penalty, International Falls was called for their first penalty of the game and Crookston was on the power play. The Pirates didn’t get a shot on goal in the one-man advantage, but they led 2-0 with nine minutes left in the period. Crookston had a couple of quality scoring chances in the final nine minutes of the period, but International Falls picked up their play and the teams played even the rest of the period and Crookston took a 2-0 lead into the second intermission. “Riley Solheim wasn’t able to play after the first period because she got sick and wasn’t able to finish the game,” said Coach Moe. “So we moved some girls around. We played a solid period, we weren’t able to score, but did a lot of nice things.”
THIRD PERIOD –
Crookston started the third period with a goal just over three minutes into the period when Breck Fugleberg slid a shot through the International Falls goalie’s five-hole for a 3-0 lead. Crookston added another goal nine seconds later when they won the faceoff and Grace Fischer slid the puck past the goalie to give the Pirates a 4-0 lead. Less than two minutes later, Crookston added another goal when Raina Satrom crashed the net and slapped the puck into the net for a 5-0 lead. 39 seconds later, Crookston added another goal when Taylor Garrett blasted a slap shot, from inside the blue line, into the back of the net for a 6-0 lead to start running time less than six minutes into the period. “It was nice to see six different players score for us tonight,” said Coach Moe. “Taylor has played a huge part for us and she stepped in and scored a goal and that was great. We had momentum going and everything started going in for us.” Neither team scored the rest of the way and Crookston held on to win 6-0. “We played our third and fourth lines in the second and third periods when we weren’t in the penalty box and they played well today,” said Coach Moe. “It was a good all-around team effort today with kids working hard and taking advantage of their opportunities.”
Crookston improves to 6-7 on the year and will host Jamestown on Friday, December 27. International Falls drops to 0-9 on the year.
J.V. – Crookston won 5-1
| Scoring | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final |
| International Falls | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| CROOKSTON | 2 | 0 | 4 | 6 |
1st Period
2:28 – Crox – Morgan Nelson (3) (Catherine Tiedemann)
2:18 – Crox – Samantha Sanders (1) (Morgan Nelson)
2nd Period
No scoring
3rd Period
13:53 – Crox – Breck Fugleberg (2) (Grace Fischer, Brynley Coleman)
13:34 – Crox – Grace Fischer (1) (Brynley Coleman, Dillynn Wallace)
11:59 – Crox – Raina Satrom (4) (Kenze Epema)
11:20 – Crox – Taylor Garrett (1) (Cassie Solheim)
| Saves | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final |
| Macey Marcotte – IF | 16 | 15 | 10 | 41 |
| Grace Koshney – Crox | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
