sports

CROOKSTON PIRATES BOY’S HOCKEY HONORS FIVE SENIORS IN LOSS TO MAYVILLE-PORTLAND

February 7, 2022

The Crookston Pirates Boy’s Hockey team hosted the Mayville-Portland Ice Dawgs on Monday night inside the Crookston Sports Center. It was Senior Night for the Pirates who honored their five Seniors, Forward Isaac Telle, Defenseman Blaine Andringa, Forward Zach Johnson, Forward Samuel Stewart, and Goaltender Landon Walker. Unfortunately for the Pirates, the Ice Dawgs have been on a roll as of late and continued their hot streak with a 4-2 win on Monday night. “It’s always disappointing to lose, especially on Senior Night,” said Pirates Head Coach Josh Hardy. “We got outplayed tonight and it wasn’t the same effort that I saw on Friday.”

FIRST-PERIOD –

Both teams slowly settled into the game, and each team only had 1 shot on goal in the first 4:00 of game time. But after an Ice Dawgs give up in their own zone, Alex Longoria shot a beautiful wristshot to beat the goaltender and give Crookston a 1-0 lead at the 4:45 mark. Both teams would have a Power Play soon after that, but each goalie made a few nice saves to keep the score 1-0 Crookston. Jaren Bailey in particular had an excellent start to the game with a few key saves in the opening frame. “Only reason we were in the game tonight was because of the saves that Jaren Bailey made early in the game,” said Pirates Head Coach Josh Hardy. “He bailed us out at times and it easily could’ve been 5-1 instead of 1-1 after the first period.” Mayville-Portland started to take control towards the end of the period, and finally cracked the scoreboard with just 25 seconds remaining to tie the game at 1-1. Jaren Bailey would make the initial save on a shot in close, but Tanner Lundwall skated in to snag the rebound and hit the open net to tie the game. The score would remain 1-1 heading into the second period. Crookston was outshot in the first period 13-7, with Mayville-Portland getting 10 of the last 11 shots on net.

SECOND-PERIOD –

Mayville-Portland continued to control the game and were rewarded again with a goal at the 6:00 minute mark to take their first lead of the game at 2-1. Crookston finally started to settle down and even hit a few posts on shots that would’ve tied the game. Eventually, though, Jack Doda would skate all the way down the ice on a pass from Jackson Demarais, and go top left corner to tie the game at 2-2. The game was only tied for 11 seconds before the Ice Dawgs reclaimed the lead. Immediately following the next faceoff, Mayville Portland caught Crookston sleeping and made it 3-2 at the 10:42 mark. “We lost the faceoff exactly where we couldn’t lose it,” said Pirates Head Coach Josh Hardy. “They made a great pass up the ice and were able to beat us and it was just a great play and response on their part.” The teams played evenly the rest of the period and would skate to the locker room after the second period with Mayville-Portland in front 3-2. Neither team had a Power Play opportunity in the period, and after two periods of play, the Ice Dawgs outshot the Pirates 27-19.

THIRD-PERIOD –

The beginning of the third period was played at a fast pace without many whistles. Crookston had multiple opportunities in the period and several shots that were mere inches away from tying the game. “We had our chances,” said Pirates Head Coach Josh Hardy. “We weren’t quite able to find the back of the net in that final period. We waited too long to realize we could’ve had those great opportunities all night long.” As the period continued to play out, the Pirates found themselves still down 3-2 with the clock reading 2:00. Crookston gained control in the Ice Dawgs zone and made the decision to pull Bailey. Shortly after, the Ice Dawgs took a Pirates turnover and moved into the Pirates zone, hitting the back of the net to take a 4-2 lead with 29 seconds left, sealing the victory. Mayville-Portland would skate the remaining 29 seconds off and secure the 4-2 win, spoiling the Pirates Senior Night. “Tough loss but we will still celebrate our five seniors tonight and all they’ve done for this program,” said Pirates Head Coach Josh Hardy. “It’s always sad to see guys leave but I’m incredibly proud of the young men they’ve become and I know they’re going to do well in whatever they pursue in this life.”

Landon Walker got the honorary start in the net for the Pirates with it being Senior Night and played 20 seconds without making any saves or allowing any goals. Jaren Bailey suffered the loss in net for the Pirates making 30 saves and surrendering 3 goals. Trevin Applegren got the start for the Ice Dawgs making 25 saves and allowing 2 goals while picking up the win.

Crookston falls to 3-16-1 on the season and will have a quick turnaround as they will host the Wahpeton-Breckenridge Blades tomorrow night inside the Crookston Sports Center. The puck will drop at 5:30 p.m. and the game can be heard on KROX and will also be carried on the KROX Live Video Stream by going to kroxam.com. Mayville-Portland improves to 12-6-2 on the season with the win.

	1st	2nd	3rd	Total
Mayville-Portland	1	2	1	4
CROOKSTON	1	1	0	2

1st Period
4:45 – Crox – Alex Longoria (Nathan Kelly)
16:35 – MP – Tanner Lundwall (Devon Johnson, Carter Garrett)

2nd Period
6:00 – MP – Walker McGillis (Devon Johnson)
10:31 – Crox – Jack Doda (Jackson Demarais)
10:42 – MP – Jonathan Muhs (Devon Johnson, Carter Garrett)

3rd Period
16:31 – EN – MP – Walker McGillis