CROOKSTON PIRATE GIRL’S HOCKEY COMEBACK FALLS SHORT AT FERGUS FALLS

The Crookston Pirate Girls hockey team score three goals in the second period, but their comeback came up just short in a 6-5 loss against Fergus Falls in a non-Section game played in Fergus Falls.

1st Period –
Fergus Falls struck early, scoring just 2:26 into the game when Maddie Hulter found the net giving the Otters a 1-0 lead. Crookston’s Cassie Solheim tied the game with a goal five minutes later, leveling the scoring at 1-1. “It wasn’t the nicest goal you’ll ever see,” said Crookston head coach Tim Moe. “She was just coming in to dump the puck in and it went up high over their goaltender.” Fergus Falls countered with a goal with 4:27 to play in the period as Vivian Karsnia gave the hosts a 2-1 lead. Maddie Hulter added her second goal less than one minute later, giving Fergus Falls a 3-1 lead after one period. “We really struggled finding late people coming into the zone,” said Moe. “We were so worried about their speed. They were fast and they were good, but we were so worried about that that we forgot about the second and third people coming into the zone. Every one of their three goals in the period was scored by somebody late coming in and just getting by them.”

2nd Period –
Ellie Anderson scored just 1:40 into the second period increasing the Otters’ lead to 4-1. Kendall Bergquist brought Crookston within 4-2 with 12:07 to play in the period scoring off an assist from Dillynn Wallace. “Dillynn (Wallace) passed it up in the neutral zone,” added Moe. “Kendall (Bergquist) came in on the right-hand side and shot it. It wasn’t a great shot, but their goaltender misplayed it a bit. It hit her blocker and went in.”  Nora Peterson scored off a faceoff on the powerplay, trimming the Pirates’ deficit down to 1 with 10:57 still to play in the period. “That was about two seconds into the power play,” added Moe. “She won the faceoff on the left-hand side. She was able to go get the puck five feet behind their center and shoot the puck in.” 1:24 later, Catherine Tiedemann scored her first goal of the season tying the game at 4-4. “That was huge,” said Moe. “That was a jailbreak. We had a three on zero and Kendall tapped the puck ahead to Catherine. It was vintage Catherine coming in, shooting the puck from the hash marks, and scoring.” Fergus Falls took the lead back with 14-seconds to play in the period as Lexi McGary scored giving the Otters’ a 5-4 lead into the third period. “We were pushing so hard in the second (period) trying to catch up,” explained Moe. “I think we wore ourselves out a little bit and for the last six minutes we were just holding on. There were several chances that they had, but Grace Koshney made some timely saves.”

3rd Period –
Maddie Hulter completed her hattrick with 7:13 to play, giving Fergus Falls a 6-4 lead. Crookston pulled back within 1 with 6:42 to play as Breck Fugleberg scored off assists from Jenna Seaver and Kendall Bergquist. “That was a scramble in front of the net,” noted Moe. “Kendall (Bergquist) was able to get her backhand shot off and put it into the net.” Crookston’s comeback bid ended there as the Otters hung on for a 6-5 win. “The big thing that I’m taking away from this game is the resiliency we showed was terrific,” summarized Moe. “We continued to battle and we were just a couple of defensive lapses and not getting the puck to the net away from having this go the other way.”

Crookston falls to 5-6. The Pirates return to the ice on Tuesday when they host East Grand Forks at 7:30 P.M. on KROX. Fergus Falls improves to 5-7.

1st Period
14:34 – FF – Maddie Hulter (Hope Goepfred, Jade Zierden)
9:26 – CROX – Cassie Solheim (MacKenze Epema)
4:27 – FF – Vivian Karsnia (Piper Andrews, Lexi McGary)
3:36 – FF – Maddie Hulter (Jade Zierden, Ellie Andersen)

2nd Period
15:20 – FF – Ellie Andersen (Jade Zierden)
12:07 – CROX – Kendall Bergquist (Dillynn Wallace)
10:57 – CROX – Nora Peterson (PP)
9:33 – CROX – Catherine Tiedemann (Kendall Bergquist, Dilynn Wallace)
0:14 – FF – Lexi McGary (Piper Andrews)

3rd Period
7:13 – FF – Maddie Hulter (Skye Norgren)
6:42 – CROX – Breck Fugleberg (Jenna Seaver, Kendall Bergquist)