sports

PIRATE BOYS HOCKEY BEATS LAKE OF THE WOODS FOR BIG SECTION VICTORY

December 28, 2023

The Crookston Pirate Boys Hockey team had three different players score, and Parker Kelly came up with some big-time saves late in the game as they beat the Lake of the Woods Bears 3-2 in a big Section 8A matchup on the final day of the Ralph Englestad Arena Holiday classic in Thief River Falls.

FIRST PERIOD
Crookston carried the momentum from the Bismarck victory on Wednesday as they started the game strong and were buzzing from the opening drop of the puck. The Pirates were putting pressure on Lake of the Woods (LOW), and at 3:21 into the game, Kadin Edwards got a pass from Riley Benson and snuck a shot by the Bear’s goalie to give Crookston a 1-0 lead.
Crookston controlled play for the rest of the period, partially because of two LOW penalties. It looked like the Pirates were going to go into the first intermission with a one-goal lead, but that changed with less than a minute left. LOW had a two-on-one and got a shot on goal before finding the rebound to slap it into the goal to tie the game at 1-1 with 38 seconds left in the period.
Crookston outshot the Bears 14-9 in the period.

SECOND PERIOD
The play was even for the first half of the second period, while neither team had a top-notch scoring opportunity. That changed less than 10 minutes into the period when Tate Hamer skated along the far boards, rifled a wrist shot from the top of the circle, and blew it by the Bears goalie to give Crookston a 2-1 lead.
The teams continued their even play, and with less than four minutes left in the period, LOW was shorthanded and got the puck behind the Pirate net and tried to stuff a shot in from the side of the net, but Crookston goalie Parker Kelly made the save to retain a 2-1 lead. LOW was at even strength and continued to put pressure on the Pirate defense the rest of the period but never got a quality scoring chance. Crookston had one last quality shot with 12 seconds left in the period as Carter Trudeau skated in between the circles and fired a wrist shot on goal, but the Bear goalie made a glove save as Crookston took a 2-1 lead into the second intermission.
The defense was stingier for both teams as Crookston had six shots on goal, and LOW had three.

THIRD PERIOD
The Pirates didn’t have a great start, as they picked up a penalty 19 seconds into the third period. In the first 15 seconds, LOW had a shot on goal, and it deflected off Kelly’s facemask to make the save.
Crookston put pressure on after getting back to full strength as Lucas Miller skated behind the LOW net and snuck a shot in the net to give the Pirates a big 3-1 lead with 13:17 left in the game. The goal was Miller’s first career varsity goal. Over two minutes later, Crookston got a shot on goal, and there were three Pirates surrounding the net, and a shot was saved by the Bear goalie.
Crookston had a three-on-two and Edwards skated the puck up the ice along the far boards and saw Fischer breaking down the middle of the ice and slid a pass over. Fischer put a shot on goal, but the Bear goalie made a huge save to keep the Pirate lead at 3-1.
Lake of the Woods got within a goal with 6:05 remaining in the game as the Bears Dax Laplante stuffed a shot in to get within a 3-2 deficit. With 2:30 left in the period, the Bears called a timeout to go over the plan of attack in the final minutes. They pulled the goalie with two minutes left. LOW had a shot on goal with 1:20 left, but the Pirate defensemen were able to keep the front of the net clear, and Kelly made the save. The final minute was a mad scramble, and Fischer had a shot at the open net but missed the net by a large margin before LOW hustled up the ice and got a shot on goal with 12 seconds remaining, but Kelly made another save. Crookston held on in the final seconds to secure a 3-2 victory.

Crookston improves to 6-3 on the year and 3-2 in Section 8A play. Lake of the Woods drops to 5-4 overall and 2-4 in Section 8A play.

CLICK HERE for Coach Josh Hardy’s post-game comments.