PIRATES BOYS HOCKEY DROPS HARD FOUGHT GAME 4-3 TO GRAFTON-PARK RIVER

The Grafton-Park River Spoilers scored two power play goals and a shorthanded goal to defeat the Crookston Pirates Boys Hockey team 4-3 Saturday night as the Pirates were unable to overcome 11 minutes in the penalty box during the third period of a game played at the Crookston Sports Center. 

1st Period
The Spoilers opened the game with a flurry in the offensive zone aided by an early penalty against the Pirates but were unable to capitalize on several scoring opportunities on the doorstep. The Pirates would draw a penalty against the Spoilers midway through the period allowing Crookston to establish its first true presence in the offensive zone in the game. While on the power play Kaleb Thingelstad dropped the puck behind the net to Jack Doda and he found Noah Kiel in the right circle. Kiel rifled a wrist shot inside the far post for a power-play goal and his third of the season to give the Pirates a 1-0 lead with 9:48 to play. “They were giving us that shot out high,” said Pirates Coach Josh Hardy. “The guys on the iced recognized it and got it to Noah who was able to bury it. Was a good start and confidence builder for us.” The Pirates would build on their advantage as they got nine of the next 11 shots on goal over eight minutes capped by their second goal of the game when Kaleb Thingelstad forced a turnover at the blue line. Thingelstad got a step on the defenseman heading up the left-wing and cut to the front of the net sliding the puck five-hole for a 2-0 lead with 1:46 to play. The goal was Thingelstad’s fourth of the season. “I’ve only been trying to get Kaleb to drive wide and to the far post for four years now,” said Hardy. “I was giving him a hard time about that. The kid is so skilled and a nice skater. Kaleb continues to be a leader on this team as a senior. You can never fault his effort, he’s always going 110 percent.” The Pirates outshot Grafton 12-11 in the first period. 

2nd Period
The Spoilers came out with a passion in the second period and would get to within a goal on a two-on-one midway through. Riley Eide fed up ice to Jackson Nelson skated to the bottom of the left circle and backhanded a pass to the right side that Brandon Kelly chipped home to make it 2-1 with 11:07 to go. Less than two minutes later, Landon Carter forced a turnover and raced into the right post flipping the puck into the top corner to tie the game 2-2 with 9:34 to play. “They came out in the second hard and made us work for it, getting two nice goals,” said Hardy. “They did a better job of pinching and shutting down our wings on the wall. They were hard on the forecheck in the period.” Late in the period, both teams would get several high-quality scoring chances but the goaltenders at both ends of the rink would stand on their heads to keep the game tied. The Spoilers outshot the Pirates 20-9 in the second. 

3rd Period
The final period of the night was all about special teams. The Spoilers would start with a powerplay goal from the right post by Kaleb Hodny with 13:11 to play that gave them a 3-2 lead. Then, the Pirates put themselves behind the eight-ball giving the Spoilers two opportunities with a five-on-three power play. The Pirates killed off the first five-on-three but immediately 10 seconds later were back down two skates as Kiel came out of the penalty box and went right back in with a five-minute major for boarding. The Spoilers would score what proved to be the game-winner on a pass lasered across the ice by Weston Sangrait to Kody Keeley at the bottom of the left circle for a 4-2 lead with 8:20 to play.  “I thought, for the most part, our penalty kill looked pretty good,” said Hardy. “Dragseth was our best penalty killer. It’s tough to kill off a five-on-three as part of a major and anytime a defenseman takes a penalty it’s tough. Thor Harbott did a real nice job slotting in to help kill the penalty time.” Two minutes later, with the Pirates on the power play, Doda found Alex Longoria at the right post to make it 4-3 with 6:16 to play. Following a timeout with 3:06 to play, the Pirates were unable to establish much on offense as they appeared out of gas finally being able to pull the goalie with just 25 seconds to play. The Pirates would get a chance with an offensive zone faceoff on the power play and an empty net with 5 secs to go but the Spoilers were able to win the draw and tie up the puck in the corner to preserve the win. The Pirates spent 11 minutes in the penalty box in the third period, giving up two power-play goals in the process. The Spoilers outshot the Pirates 14-7 in the third. “I was really proud of our effort tonight,” said Hardy. “I thought top to bottom we were a different team than we were Thursday night in Thief River Falls. I was a little disheartened Thursday and but really, really proud of the way we played defensively. I thought our offense had a nice spark. It just came down to taking 11 minutes of penalties in the third as the difference in the game.” 

The Pirates fall to 0-4 and will travel to Mayville-Portland on Tuesday, February 2 at 7 p.m. in a game that can be heard on KROX beginning with the RiverView Health pregame show at 6:30 p.m. Grafton-Park River improves to 4-12 on the year.  

1st Period
9:48 – Crox – Noah Kiel (Jack Doda, Kaleb Thingelstad) PP
1:46 – Crox – Kaleb Thingelstad (unassisted) 

2nd Period
11:07 – G-PR – Brandon Kelly (Jackson Nelson, Riley Eide)
9:34 – G-PR – Landon Carter (unassisted) SH

3rd Period
13:11 – G-PR – Kaleb Hodny (Jackson Nelson, Brandon Kelly) PP
8:20 – G-PR – Kody Keeley (Weston Sangrait, Landon Carter) PP
6:16 – Crox – Alex Longoria (Jack Doda, Kaleb Thingelstad) PP 

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