Parker Kelly records 1,000th save, Pirate Boys Hockey defeats Lake of the Woods

The Crookston Pirate Boys Hockey team had their offense held in check for the majority of the game, but the defense stood tall, and Parker Kelly recorded his 1,000th save en route to a 3-0 Pirate victory over the Lake of the Woods Bears at the Crookston Sports Center on Friday.

FIRST PERIOD –
The opening seconds of the first period were a tell of how the rest of the period would go, as Greyson Ecker fired a shot on goal 15 seconds in. However, the tell also involved LOW goaltender Jonah McDougall, who was on point throughout the period. Crookston continued to pepper him with shots on goal, but he was up to the task and stopped them all. As for the Bears offense, it was virtually nonexistent as the Pirate defense prevented any open looks, including Tate Hamre breaking up two separate breakaways in the final minutes of the period. The Bears were able to kill off a penalty in the period as well but could only get two shots on goal, both of which Parker Kelly saved, causing the game to remain scoreless after one period.

SECOND PERIOD –
After McDougall’s sensational first period, the Pirates needed to find some way to get past him. The man who took credit for that was Grant Funk, who sniped one in from the blue line to put the Pirates up 1-0. A bit later, Parker Kelly saved a breakaway attempt, and the crowd erupted as Kelly recorded his 1,000th career save. This seemed to prive some juice into the Pirates defense, as they began to limit the shots on goal once again. Towards the end of the period, emotions began to run high, and with 1:31 to go, a fight behind McDougall caused two players from each side to head into the box. Crookston got on the power play, and Gavin Aakhus put one by the right shoulder of McDougall with 26 seconds left to give the Pirates a 2-0 lead, a lead which would stick at the intermission.

THIRD PERIOD –
As the third period started, LOW could not find an answer for the Pirate defense. The Bears consistently won faceoffs and attempted to set up plays, but the backcheck of the Pirates continued to be disruptive consistently. A turnover off the back check gave Tate Hamre a wide-open look, which he put away at 5:26 to give the Pirates a 3-0 lead. That Hamre shot was one of 26 shots on goal the Pirates recorded in the third period alone. Unfortunately for them, Jonah McDougall increased his level of play exponentially and started making ridiculous saves from all angles. His wizardry between the pipes held Crookston to just three goals in the game. However, the offense could not cut into the deficit, and the Pirates were able to walk away with a 3-0 victory.

Crookston improves to 15-7-1 and will host Red Lake Falls for a massive section matchup on Tuesday night. Lake of the Woods drops to 3-17 on the season.