The Crookston Pirate Girls Hockey team staved off a Rock Ridge comeback by scoring two goals in the 3rd period, allowing them to hold on to a 4-2 victory in Eveleth on Friday night.
FIRST PERIOD
Rock Ridge got off to a hot start to the period, firing quick shots to start the game at Madilyn Abrams, but she stopped everything she faced. As the period approached its halfway point, Adley Vigness, who has been moved to forward in recent games, sniped one behind Erin Troutwine in net, giving the Pirates an early 1-0 lead. Vigness would not be done scoring, however, as she scored on a breakaway to give the Pirates a 2-0 lead. Though Crookston was outshot 18-10 in the period, Abrams held her ground, and the Pirates took the 2-0 advantage into the second period.
SECOND PERIOD
As the second period began, Rock Ridge began to make adjustments and come back at the Pirates. They began to draw more penalties on Crookston, getting three power plays in the period. Mayme Scott was the benefactor of two of them; when Kinsley Wangen went into the box, Scott scored to cut the lead to 2-1, and then after Nova Garrett was penalized for tripping, Scott scored unassisted to tie the game at 2. The Rock Ridge defense also continued to hold firm, holding the Pirates to just 4 shots on goal, all of which were stopped by Troutwine. However, the Pirates were able to successfully kill the third power play of the period, and the game remained tied at 2 headed into the 3rd period.
THIRD PERIOD
As the final period got underway, the Pirates were looking to take the lead. Crookston had been reliant on its top line throughout the course of the game to this point, but it ended up being Shyuh Burnette putting away the go-ahead goal off a great pass from Christina Hershey to give the Pirates a 3-2 lead. From there, Rock Ridge controlled the puck and pace of play, firing shot after shot at Abrams, but she continued to hold strong. Eventually, Rock Ridge was forced to pull the goaltender in the final minutes of the period, but that left the net empty, and Emma LaPlante was able to put away the dagger with 14 seconds remaining in the game, giving the Pirates a 4-2 victory for their second win of the season.
Crookston improves to 2-7 on the season and will take on International Falls on Saturday. Rock Ridge falls to 3-7.
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final |
| Crookston | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Rock Ridge | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
1st Period
7:09 – Crookston – Adley Vigness (Jensen Stinar, Emma LaPlante)
11:19 – Crookston – Adley Vigness
2nd Period
8:12 – RR (PP) – Mayme Scott (Mimi Babiracki)
11:20 – RR (PP) – Mayme Scott
3rd Period
2:40 – Crookston – Shyuh Burnette (Christina Hershey)
16:46 – Crookston (EN)- Emma LaPlante (Adley Vigness)
| Goalie | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Total |
| Erin Troutwine – RR | 8 | 4 | 2 | 14 |
| Madi Abrams – Crox | 18 | 11 | 16 | 45 |
