PROCTOR-HERMANTOWN USES TWO LATE 1ST PERIOD GOALS TO A 4-1 BEAT PIRATE GIRLS HOCKEY

Proctor-Hermantown scored two goals in the last 33 seconds of the first period to take a 3-0 lead, and the Crookston Pirates could never get any closer as the #3 Class A ranked Mirage defeated the Pirates 4-1 on the first day of the Warroad Girl’s Hockey Classic at the Gardens in Warroad.

FIRST PERIOD
Whether both teams were feeling each other out to start the game, it was clear that Proctor-Hermantown was going to be a problem for the Pirates as they Crookston very little time to handle the puck as the Mirage were right on top of them.  Proctor-Hermantown scored just over 10 minutes into the game when they got a takeaway deep in the Crookston zone. It was a close-in two-on-one, and Ava Anick slid a pass to Reese Heitzmann, who slid a backhander that trickled past Pirate goalie Kambelle Freiji to give the Mirage a 1-0 lead. When you thought that it would go into the locker room a 1-0 game, things went sideways for the Pirates. With 33 seconds left in the period, Heitzmann was sent in on a breakaway and scored 2-0. No, the period wasn’t over, as time was whittling down. At the buzzer, Hannah Graves (a Bemidji State recruit), after some nice passing by the Mirage, blasted a shot in the slot that beat Freiji at the buzzer that the referee said to beat the buzzer. Proctor-Hermantown had a 3-0 lead after a period. “Giving up those last two goals was like a kick in the face,” said Crookston head coach Emily Meyer, “it’s hard to recover when you give up a couple of quick ones in the last seconds. We did not play Pirate hockey in the first period, playing pretty sloppy, and it cost us.”

SECOND PERIOD
Crookston stepped it up a little bit in the second period with more offensive ice time and some chances. Still, it was Heitzmann who got her hat trick to take a 4-0 lead just over 11 minutes into the period as the senior won the draw from the left of the Crookston goal, carried the puck to the low slot and rifled a shot that Freiji didn’t have a chance on. It was a shorthanded goal, the first the Pirates have given up this year. “We pride ourselves with our penalty kill,” said Meyer, “but that 21 (Heitzmann) has some pair of hands. She is a very good player.”  Crookston would answer a few minutes later on the tail end of a power play when Addie Fee intercepted a pass and, in the high slot, sent in a shot. The pad save bounced out to an incoming Brekken Tull, who put it away for her third power-play goal of the year, and Crookston trailed 4-1, which is how the second period ended. “I thought we stepped it up in the second period,” said Meyer, “we were communicating better, passing the puck better, and finding space for a little more free time to look up ice. I thought the goal we scored gave us some momentum. This is what we wanted to carry through to the third period.”

THIRD PERIOD
Nobody would score in the final period, but Crookston bad some point-blank shots stopped by the Mirage goalie, Neela McLeod. Freiji was spotless in goal for the Pirates, but the Pirates could not get a goal to make things interesting, but not for lack of hustle. At times it looked like Proctor-Hermantown had seven/eight players on the ice! “It was Morgan Nelson was saying every time in the locker room, they are our shadow out there, every time we moved, they were there! We need to move the puck better, which would be better for us.”

Crookston is 10-2-1 on the year with their two losses to #3 in Class A Proctor-Hermantown, and earlier a loss to #1 ranked Warroad, who the Pirates will play again on Wednesday. “This is the type of competition we want, the type of games that will make us better, win or lose,” said Meyer. We like being the underdog, and hopefully, we can come back tomorrow to pick up a win.” The Pirates will play Lakeville North, ranked #10 in the state Class AA polls and lost to Warroad tonight 10-0. Proctor-Hermantown improves to 7-2-2 on the season and will play Warroad tomorrow night.
Junior Varsity –  Proctor-Hermantown 14-0 over Crookston

1st Period
10:22 – PH – Reese Heitzman (Ava Anick)
16:28 – PH – Reese Heitzman (Jane Eckstrom, Hailey Jussila)
16:59 – PH – Hannah Graves (Sophie Parendo, Natalya Hooey)

2nd Period
11:20 – PH – Reese Heitzman unassisted  (SH)
14:20 – Crookston – Brekken Tull (8) Addie Fee)  (PP)

3rd Period
No Scoring