The Crookston Pirate Girl’s Hockey team had 12 different players score a point, received a four-goal performance from Freshman Emma LaPlante and a shutout from Julia Buhler, a sophomore playing her first varsity game ever as the Pirates rode the Broncos to an 11-0 win at the Bronco Arena in International Falls.
If the Pirates were going to set the tone of the game, they did it right away when Crookston junior defenseman Reese Swanson made quick work scoring 42 seconds into the game. She wristed a hard shot on goal, Mara Pelland, the goalie for the Broncos, grabbed it with her trapper, but she couldn’t hold on, and it went off the glove into the net for a 1-0 lead. “We wanted to set the tone early,” said Emily Meyer, the Pirate head coach. “We want to do that every game if we can, and our girls know that and tend to take it upon themselves to do that. I thought we did start a little slow with bus legs and whatnot. They were a little disappointed with all the shots and only 3-0.”
It was total domination in the first period, with Crookston getting 33 shots on goal and not allowing a single shot of the Broncos to get on the net or even close. Crookston scored again, with LaPlante getting her first goal on a smart play by both her and Morgan Nelson. Nelson had the puck in the corner and was surrounded by I-Falls defensemen as she saw LaPlante parked at the left side of the goal. LaPlante tipped it just inside the left post, and it was 2-0 for Crookston. The period scoring was capped off by another Pirate defenseman when Ashlyn Bailey’s shot from inside the blue line hit some sticks of International Falls and found its way in, and it was 3-0 after one period.
Second Period –
Crookston exploded in the second period as they wore down Pelland and most of the Broncos team. LaPlante score her second when the Broncos goalie was down, making a save, and as she was laying flat, LaPlante gathered a rebound and put the puck high into the net over the sprawled goaltender, and it was 4-0. Exactly a minute later, sophomore defenseman Maddy Harbott scored on a shot from the point on what might have been her first shift in the game. Harbott scored her first goal of the year last year, also in International Falls. LaPlante would get her hat trick near halfway through the period, jumping on a rebound from a Cassie Solheim shot. “The girls just wanted to play better after a little sloppy first period,” said coach Meyer. “They were moving the puck around and were a little bit selfish in the first period, and they did a better job in the second period. They wanted to do better and do it with style playing Pirate hockey. It again was the girls that made those changes.”The Pirates weren’t done, as they scored four goals in the last three and a half minutes of the period. Swanson scored on a give-and-go with Taylor Field. Field then scored on a power play. Brynley Coleman scored 30 seconds later, and LaPlante would add her fourth goal of the game, and it was Crookston leading 10-0 after two periods. Buhler would have her big test with about three minutes left in the period when Ava Werner of International Falls came in on a breakaway and was stuffed by Buhler with a pad save and left no rebound. “I squared myself up and just stood my ground and was able to get a pad on it, and the rebound was right in front of me,” said Buhler. “I was nervous at the start of the game, and when I came into the locker room after the first period, I felt really good when my teammates were congratulating me and encouraging me, so that was nice.”
Third period –
The third period was running time, and the Pirates were able to get one goal when Kaylee Clauson received a pass and found a spot to score a short-handed goal. Crookston continued to apply a lot of pressure in the Broncos zone, but Pelland still played tough, and it would end 11-0 victory with Buhler not seeing a shot on goal again in the third period as Crookston outshot the Broncos 76-4.
“It’s great we had so many get into the scoring column,” said Meyer. “Emma works so hard, and it was great to see her rewarded with the four goals. Maddy gets her first goal, a nice shot, and it was good to see everybody happy for her and also Julia.”
Crookston improves to 8-1-1 on the season and will take their two-game winning streak to Bemidji on Tuesday. “Bemidji will be a good game, they are playing well, and we’ll have to be ready for them,” said Meyer. On Thursday, Crookston will host Detroit Lakes. International Falls is 0-8 on the season.
The Broncos have no JV team.
|
Scoring
|
1st
|
2nd
|
3rd
|
Final
|
|
CROOKSTON
|
3
|
7
|
1
|
11
|
|
International Falls
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1st Period
0:49 – Crookston – Reese Swanson (8) (unassisted)
10:17 – Crookston – Emma LaPlante (4) (Morgan Nelson)
15:37 – Crookston – Ashlyn Bailey (5) (Morgan Nelson, Jenna Seaver)
2nd Period
2:52 – Crookston – Emma LaPlante (5) (Taylor Field, Cassie Solheim)
3:52 – Crookston – Maddie Harbott (1) (JoJo Wallace, Brynley Coleman)
7:30 – Crookston – Emma LaPlante (6) (Cassie Solheim)
13:14 – Crookston – Reese Swanson (9) (Taylor Field)
15:40 – Crookston – Taylor Field (6) (Morgan Nelson) (PP)
15:59 – Crookston – Brynley Coleman (3) (Cassie Solheim, Emmi Trostad)
16:05 – Crookston – Emma LaPlante (7) (Ashlyn Bailey)
3rd Period
12:46 – Crookston – Kaylie Clauson (2) (Emma LaPlante, Reese Swanson) (SH)
|
Saves
|
1st
|
2nd
|
3rd
|
Final
|
|
Julia Buhler-Crox
|
0
|
4
|
0
|
4
|
|
Mara Pelland – IF
|
30
|
19
|
16
|
65
|
