Pirate Boys Hockey relies again on late game heroics, ties Detroit Lakes

The Crookston Pirate Boys Hockey team seemed dead in the water, but two Greyson Ecker goals allowed the Pirates to complete the comeback, earning a massive 4-4 tie against the Detroit Lakes Lakers in the Crookston Sports Center.

FIRST PERIOD
Both coaches during the pregame believed that this game was going to be low scoring, and the first period started out heading that direction. There were only 11 combined shots on goal during the entire period, and the first shot that the Lakers put on Parker Kelly resulted in a goal, as Will Cymbaluk scored on a breakaway to put the Lakers on top 1-0. There wasn’t much more action that took place within the period, as very few shots were made, and the puck spent a lot of time in center ice. Both goalies saved 5 shots, and the score stayed at 1-0 in Detroit Lakes’s favor after the period.

SECOND PERIOD
Contrary to how the first period went, the second period went completely different than the first. The Lakers struck first, as a turnover in front of Kelly allowed Carter Whitworth to put one in the twine, allowing the Lakers to take a 2-0 lead. Crookston was dramatically outshot in the second period, and needed something to bounce their way. That happened literally, as a puck fired from center ice by Tate Hamre bounced awkwardly off the stick of Laker goaltender Griffin Lindberg and bounced into the net, putting the Pirates on the board. They then used that positive momentum to score again 6 minutes later, this time on a perfect shot by Jay Reese through the legs of Lindberg to tie the game at 2. It seemed as though the Pirates had all the momentum and the second period would end tied, but an attempted Parker Kelly poke check gave the puck right to Mason Deraney, and his goal with 45 seconds left in the period gave the Lakers a 3-2 lead, which they took with them into the second intermission.

THIRD PERIOD
The third period started after a delay due to too much water on the ice, and it seemed that what occurred in the first period had made its way back. Shot attempts in the first 7 minutes were very few and far between, and Lindberg had to be sharp, stopping multiple breakaways and bailing out the defense. The second half of the period was completely different, however, as Detroit Lakes continued to pepper Kelly at net. Crookston stepped up, blocking many shots throughout the period and keeping the Lakers at bay. The Lakers finally had enough of it, though, and Whitworth took matters into his own hands, blowing by the defense with 2:06 remaining to give Detroit Lakes a 4-2 lead. Crookston then pulled the goalie, and played 6-on-5 hockey. That paid off, as a goal was scored by Gresyon Ecker less than a minute later, making it 4-3. Then, with the period winding down to its final seconds, Brandon Colborn playing as the extra skater set up a perfect centering pass to Ecker, who put the puck in the net to tie the game at 4 with 3.8 seconds left, sending the game into overtime.

OVERTIME
In perhaps an unexpected turn of events, overtime played eerily similar to the first period. There were a combined 9 shots on goal, 7 of them coming from Detroit Lakes, and none of them were very clean or high-profile scoring chances. Both Parker Kelly and Griffin Lindberg stood their ground, and both defenses blocked a number of shots, leading to the game ending in a 4-4 tie.

Crookston and Detroit Lakes both now have a record of 4-1-1, with Crookston 3-0-1 in the section and Detroit Lakes 2-0-1 in the section.
JV- Detroit Lakes won 4-2

1st Period
4:25 – DL – Will Cymbaluk (unassisted)

2nd Period
4:17 – DL – Carter Whitworth (Luke Helm)
8:32 – CROX – Tate Hamre (unassisted)
14:13 – CROX – Jay Reese (Greyson Ecker)
16:15 – DL – Mason Deraney (Jace Fields)

3rd Period
14:54 – DL – Carter Whitworth (unassisted)
15:26 – CROX – Greyson Ecker (Garrett Fischer)
16:57 – CROX – Greyson Ecker (Garrett Fischer, Brandon Colborn)

Overtime
No scoring

Team Huddle

Parker Kelly

Ryan Street

Greyson Ecker

Teagan Lubinski

Tate Hamre