CROOKSTON PIRATES BOYS HOCKEY SCORES EARLY, BUT FALLS 6-1 AGAINST BEMIDJI

The Crookston Pirates Boys Hockey team traveled to Bemidji on Tuesday night for a matchup against an 8AA Section team in the Bemidji Lumberjacks. The Pirates got off to a quick start, but Bemidji was able to score six straight goals on their way to a 6-1 victory over the Pirates on Senior Night. “We got off to a good start, but really we just need to shore things up a little bit,” said Pirates Head Coach Josh Hardy. “We have another tough task coming up so we need to learn from this and be ready to go on Friday.”

FIRST-PERIOD –

The Pirates came out and got the scoring started on a Power Play goal from Kadin Edwards. The goal came at the 2:42 mark of the period and was just five seconds into the Power Play. “That was a great way to start the game,” said Pirates Head Coach Josh Hardy. “Kadin read it well and did a good job crashing the net to give us an early lead.” The rest of the period, however, was controlled by the Lumberjacks. It wasn’t until the 10:47 mark, but Bemidji finally got on the board on a goal from Cade Voge making the score 1-1. A few minutes later the Lumberjacks struck again on a goal from Ashton Niemi making the score 2-1 Lumberjacks. Crookston would be called for a penalty late in the period giving Bemidji the man advantage. Jack Doda would steal a pass for the Pirates and have a chance to tie the game on a breakaway but would be turned aside on a beautiful save from the Lumberjacks goalie Jackson Hill. That would end the period with the score 2-1 in favor of Bemidji. The Lumberjacks outshot Crookston 19-4 in the first frame and had a stretch of 13 straight shots.

SECOND-PERIOD –

The Lumberjacks had a Power play that carried over into the second period, and they capitalized on a beautiful shot from Wyatt Mattfield to make it 3-1 just 32 seconds into the period. A few minutes later, on a Pirates Power Play Nick Yavarow would add another goal for Bemidji, a short-handed goal, making it 4-1 Lumberjacks. The second period was defined by the Power Play. Crookston had three chances with the man advantage and couldn’t find the back of the net. “I felt like the puck really didn’t bounce our way tonight,” said Pirates Head Coach Josh Hardy. “We certainly need to do things better, but it was just one of those nights where things didn’t go our way.” There was no more scoring in the period, and the teams skated to the locker rooms after two periods with Bemidji in front 4-1. The Lumberjacks outshot the Pirates 33-6 through the first two frames.

THIRD-PERIOD –

Both goalies made fantastic saves to start the period, keeping the score deadlocked at 4-1 in favor of Bemidji. Crookston would have a couple of good chances in the period, but the Lumberjacks once again would turn the Pirates away. Bemidji would add two more goals to secure a 6-1 victory, and would outshoot the Pirates 53-9 in the contest. “Jaren is doing what he can,” said Pirates Head Coach Josh Hardy. “If he keeps playing like that will have a chance to be in any game. We have to find ways to help him out and get more shots on goal.” Jaren Bailey got the start for the Pirates and made 47 saves while surrendering 6 goals in the losing effort. The Lumberjacks played two goalies on the night, and Jackson Hill was the one who got the start and was credited with the win saving 3 shots and surrendering 1 goal. Braydon Puppe played the second and third periods in net for the Lumberjacks and made 5 saves allowing 0 goals.

Crookston falls to 1-10-1 on the season and will be back in action on Friday night when they host Warroad. The puck will drop at 7:30 p.m. and the game can be live-streamed by going to kroxam.com. Bemidji improves to 6-7-1 on the season with the win.

1st Period
2:47 – CROX – Kadin Edwards (2) (Nathan Kelly, Ty Larson) (PP)
10:47 – BEM – Cade Voge (Cooper Malkowski, Ashton Niemi)
13:10 – BEM – Ashton Niemi (Cooper Malkowski, Cael Knutson)

2nd Period
0:32 – BEM – Wyatt Mattfield (Casey Rupp) (PP)
6:14 – BEM – Nick Yavarow (Tyson Bjornerud) (SH)

3rd Period
2:39- BEM – Peyton Neadeau (Casey Rupp, Max Frankhanel)
10:30 – BEM – Nick Yavarow (Josef Lalli)