sports

JACK DODA NOTCHES 100TH CAREER POINT AS PIRATES WIN THIRD STRAIGHT

February 14, 2022

The Crookston Pirates Boy’s Hockey team had an opportunity to play a Section 8A opponent on Monday night when they hosted the Lake of the Woods Bears. The game provided a big opportunity for both teams to get a Section win before the seeding meeting later this week. Crookston fell behind 2-0 but scored 3 unanswered goals and Jack Doda scored his 100^th career point as the Pirates were able to pick up the win 4-3. “I was proud of the boys tonight,” said Pirates Head Coach Josh Hardy. “We fought back and got a big Section win tonight.”

FIRST-PERIOD –

Lake of the Woods came out firing with the first three shots of the game, and an early goal at the 2:43 mark to make it 1-0. Crookston would then have two Power Play opportunities, but both would fail to keep the game 1-0 in favor of Lake of the Woods. The Bears once again were able to strike to take a 2-0 lead, with 6:18 remaining in the first period. It looked as if Lake of the Woods was going to start to run away with the game, but Jack Doda had other thoughts. Doda would score two goals for Crookston in the final 2:06 of the period, tying the game at 2-2 as the teams skated to the locker room. The second goal for Doda was the 100^th point of his varsity career. “Jack has been with us a long time,” said Pirates Head Coach Josh Hardy. “He has been a big part of this team and it was nice to see him get that accomplishment.” Lake of the Woods outshot the Pirates 14-8 through the first period. “I honestly didn’t know I was that close to hitting that mark,” said Jack Doda. “I was proud of our guys tonight and it was a big win for us.”

SECOND-PERIOD –

The second period had a slower start, with neither team having a great opportunity on the attack. Crookston would have two more Power Play opportunities and once again the Bears were able to kill both. The Pirates would draw one more penalty, and on their fifth Power Play of the game, would take their first lead of the day. Jack Doda completed his hat trick on a beautiful pass from Alex Longoria, as Crookston took a 3-2 lead at the 13:31 mark of the period. “Me and Alex (Longoria) have been playing with each other for a long time,” said Jack Doda. “We just have great chemistry, and he is really fun to play with.” Longoria once again executed a cross-ice pass a few minutes later, and Ashton Shockman joined the fun with a goal giving Crookston a 4-2 lead with just 1:35 remaining in the period. For Crookston, it was their fourth unanswered goal after being down 2-0. Neither team would have an opportunity late in the period, and Crookston would take a 4-2 lead into the final period. The Pirates had a much better second period, outshooting Lake of the Woods 13-6, and taking a 21-20 advantage overall.

THIRD-PERIOD –

There was just a total of 12 shots in the final period but plenty of chances near the net. Lake of the Woods finally broke through at the 8:05 mark of the period and made it a 1 goal game at 4-3 Crookston. In the final three minutes in particular, the Bears had several chances in front of the net, but Jaren Bailey made enough saves, and the Pirates were able to make enough defensive plays to secure a big Section 8A victory over Lake of the Woods 4-3. “Jaren (Bailey) made a couple of big saves down the stretch for us,” said Pirates Head Coach Josh Hardy. “He has stepped up all year for us and it was a wild ending, but we got the job done.”

Jaren Bailey earned the win for the Pirates making 24 saves and allowing just 3 goals. Riley Stromlund got the start for the Bears and made 22 saves while allowing 4 goals in the losing effort.

Crookston improves to 6-16-1 on the season and will wrap up the regular season tomorrow night at Red Lake Falls. The two teams met all the way back at the beginning of December, with Red Lake Falls winning 11-1. The puck will drop at 7:00 p.m. Lake of the Woods falls to 7-12-1 with the loss.