STRONG THIRD PERIOD GIVES PIRATE BOYS HOCKEY WIN OVER INTERNATIONAL FALLS

Four different Pirate players scored on 44 shots as the Crookston Boys Hockey team beat the International Falls Broncos 4-1 at the Crookston Sports Center.

FIRST PERIOD
Crookston began the game with early pressure on the International Falls goal. Riley Benson had a shot deflected by Kane Thompson 1:20 into the game, and Michael Bockow had a shot saved a minute later. The Pirates had another opportunity early when Jay Reese had a nice pass across the International Falls crease, but no one got a shot off, and the game remained scoreless.
Bockow had another shot saved 6:30 minutes into the game, but scoring opportunities became scarce for the next five minutes. 11:30 into the game, Kadin Edwards received a pass in front of the International Falls net, but Thompson made the save to keep Crookston off the board.
The Pirates continued to put pressure on the International Falls net with a big slap shot from Teagen Lubinski, but it was saved. After that, Crookston went on the power play for the first time tonight. Carter Trudeau got a shot on net, but that was it, as the Broncos killed the penalty.
Crookston continued to pressure the International Falls goal after the power play with Benson and Lucas Miller having back-to-back shots 15:00 into the game. The Pirates ended the period with another pair of shots from Bochow and Ty Larson in the last ten seconds, but Thompson deflected both, and the teams went into the first intermission tied 0-0.

SECOND PERIOD
Crookston began the period with early pressure on the International Falls goal. Benson had a shot deflected, and Garrett Fischer had a shot saved in the first two minutes of the period. International Falls had an excellent opportunity when Jake Olson had a back-hand shot in front of the net, but Parker Kelly made the save to keep the Broncos off the board.
Crookston continued to pepper the Bronco net with shots as Melsa and Tate Hamre had shots saved by Thompson, and Greyson Ecker had a breakaway opportunity saved by Thompson. Just over seven minutes into the period, the Broncos got on the board when Kaden Korpi received a pass from Cooper Crandall and Noah Shikowsky right in front of the net, and he buried it to give International Falls a 1-0 lead.
The Pirates responded with a shot from Benson 30 seconds later, but it was saved. The Broncos almost scored another goal 30 seconds after that, but Kelly made the save on the bouncing puck. The teams traded shots in the ninth minute before Parker Kelly made a great save on an open-look shot from Gage Wallander. Crookston got on the board 12 minutes into the period when Brandon Colborn received a pass from Liam Larson in front of the net, and he scored the goal to tie the game at 1-1.
Crookston continued to pressure the International Falls net with shots from Miller and Masen Reitmeier deflected by Thompson 13:30 into the period. Kadin Edwards had a shot saved 14 minutes into the period, and Larson and Jay Reese had shots deflected 30 seconds later. The two teams were even from the last two minutes of the period before Trudeau, Lubinski, and Edwards had a three on two breakaway, but Edwards’ shot was saved, and the teams went into the second intermission tied at 1-1.

THIRD PERIOD
The period began with even play between the two teams. Crookston started to put pressure on the Broncos net 2:20 into the period with shots from Fischer, Larson, and Melsa. Crookston went on the power play at 4:11 into the period. After shots from Lubinski and Ecker, Jay Reese received a pass from Ecker and Fischer in front of the net, and he scored with just three seconds left in the power play to give the Pirates a 2-1 lead.
International Falls went on the power play eight minutes into the period, but that advantage was short-lived, as it became four-on-four after the Broncos were called for interference. Crookston got themselves a four-on-three after an International Falls slashing penalty, which became a five-on-three after the Pirates killed the initial Broncos power play. Hamre got a shot on net in the five-on-three, but after it became a five-on-four, Ecker had a shot on goal, and Fischer scored the second chance goal in front of the net to give the Pirates a 3-1 lead.
12:00 into the period, International Falls got another power play after Crookston was called for a holding penalty. The Pirates were unphased by the disadvantage, as Kaden Edwards stole it, went on a breakaway, and scored a back-handed goal to give Crookston a 4-1 lead.
After the Crookston goal, International Falls pulled their goalie to make it a six-on-four advantage. Kelly made two saves, and the Pirates killed the rest of the penalty. International Falls put their goalie back in for the last minute of the game, and the Pirates cruised to a 4-1 victory.

Crookston improves to 3-0 on the season and takes on St. Paul Johnson tomorrow at 6:00 PM. International Falls goes to 0-2 on the season.

TO LISTEN TO KADIN EDWARDS POST-GAME COMMENTS, CLICK BELOW:

TO LISTEN TO COACH JOSH HARDY’S POST-GAME COMMENTS, CLICK BELOW:

1st Period
No Scoring

2nd Period
7:10 – IF – Kaden Korpi (Cooper Crandall, Noah Shikowsky)
12:08 – Crox – Brandon Colborn (2) (Liam Larson)

3rd Period
6:08 – Crox – Jay Reese (1) (Greyson Ecker, Garrett Fischer) (PP)
10:51 – Crox – Garrett Fischer (2) (Greyson Ecker) (PP)
13:07 – Crox – Kadin Edwards (3) (Unassisted) (SH)

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