KITTSON COUNTY CENTRAL OUTLASTS CROOKSTON PIRATE BOY’S HOCKEY FOR 6-4 WIN

The Crookston Pirate Boy’s Hockey team began their season this evening hosting the Kittson County Central (KCC) Bearcats. KCC scored early and often for a 5-1 lead, but the Pirates were led back by Jack Doda who scored three goals in the game, and the Pirates found themselves down 5-4 in the third period. The Bearcats regrouped and held off Crookston winning the game 6-4.

FIRST PERIOD –
Tyler Hennen quickly showed why he is one of the top goal-scorers in the area, scoring two goals in under two minutes to give the Bearcats a quick 2-0 lead. His first goal deflected off the stick of Nathan Kelly in front of the net and redirected past Crookston goalie Jaren Bailey, and Hennen went five-hole on his second goal to beat Bailey less than a minute later. The offenses continued to be the early storyline, and Crookston would get on the board as well after Carter Trudeau set up sophomore Ryan Street for his first career varsity goal. Jack Doda would also be credited an assist on the goal. That gave KCC a 2-1 lead with 14:02 remaining in the period. Both goaltenders would settle in, and the game started to become physical with both teams doing plenty of checking. This would result in a penalty for both teams, but neither could capitalize on their Power Play opportunity leaving the game 2-1 in favor of the Bearcats for the time being. It appeared that would be the score going into the intermission, but KCC would sneak in one last goal with just two seconds remaining in the frame. Hennen would once again weave his way through the Pirates defense and dump a pass off to Hayden Olsonawski who would riffle a shot into the back of the net, giving the Bearcats a 3-1 advantage. Crookston outshot the Bearcats 13-10 in the first frame and had opportunities, but it was KCC who held the lead after one period of play.

SECOND PERIOD –
Early scoring to start periods continued to be a theme with each team’s top line being effective. The Bearcats scored less than a minute into the period with Hayden Olsonawski finding the back of the net for his second goal. Crookston would soon after draw a penalty and get their second Power Play of the game. Unfortunately for the Pirates, KCC would get a leak out on an outlet pass and score a shorthanded goal. Tyler Hennen would snipe a shot top shelf for a hat trick and a 5-1 Bearcats lead with 13:24 remaining in the period. The Pirates continued to fight and halfway through the period would draw another penalty for another Power Play opportunity. This time Crookston would take advantage as Jack Doda would shoot a puck through traffic for his first goal of the season to cut the deficit down to 5-2 with 6:05 left to play in the period. Carter Trudeau would be credited with his second assist on the night setting Doda up. Crookston controlled the final six minutes of the period getting plenty of chances near the front of the net, but it didn’t amount to any goals, and that gave KCC a 5-2 lead heading into the final period. Through two periods of play the shots were very even with Crookston in front 22-20.

THIRD PERIOD –
It took just nine seconds into the third period for Crookston to get on the board as they won the opening faceoff and Jack Doda strolled into the Bearcats zone and shot one past Jameson Turner to make it a 5-3 game. The Pirates continued to apply pressure and just over two minutes later Doda scored again making it a one-goal game with KCC leading 5-4 with 14:33 to play. The goal was also the third of the game for Doda giving him a hat trick. The Bearcats settled down never panicking. KCC would draw a penalty going on the man advantage, and not even fifteen seconds in, score another goal to make it a two-goal game once again at 6-4 with 11:10 left in the action. Crookston skated hard the remainder of the game, and the top line had some chances, but the Bearcats defense was stout and up to the task. Crookston would pull Jaren Bailey with 1:07 remaining but it wouldn’t matter, and the Bearcats would outlast the Pirates for a 6-4 victory.

Crookston drops to 0-1 on the season and will be back in action later this week on Friday night when they travel to take on Red Lake Falls. The puck will drop at 7:00 p.m. and the game can be heard on KROX starting with the RiverView Health pregame show at 6:30 p.m. Kittson County Central improves to 3-0 on the season with the win.

FOR PIRATES COACH JOSH HARDY’S COMMENTS, CLICK BELOW

THE VIDEO REPLAY IS BELOW

1st Period
1:08 – KCC – Tyler Hennen (Hayden Olsonawski)
1:53 – KCC – Tyler Hennen (Hayden Olsonawski, Gavin Johnson)
2:58 – Crox – Ryan Street (1) (Carter Trudeau, Jack Doda)
16:58 – KCC – Hayden Olsonawski (Tyler Hennen)

2nd Period
0:28 – KCC – Hayden Olsonawski (Tyler Hennin, Isaac Gustafson)
3:36 – KCC – Tyler Hennen (Hayden Olsonawski)
10:55 – Crox – PP – Jack Doda (1) (Carter Trudeau) 

3rd Period
0:08 – Crox – Jack Doda (2) (Ryan Street)
2:27 – Crox – Jack Doda (3) (unassisted)
5:50 – KCC – PP – Hayden Olsonawski (unassisted)