sports

TWO RIVERS SCORES TWO SECOND PERIOD GOALS TO BEAT PIRATE BOY’S HOCKEY

December 10, 2022

The Crookston Pirates boy’s hockey team battled for all three periods but came up just short on Saturday losing to the Two Rivers Warriors by a score of 3-1.

FIRST PERIOD –
Both teams slowly tried to find their footing in the opening period and it resulted in a scoreless opening frame as neither team could figure the other one’s defense out. There was a total of just 12 shots on net in the entire period. Each team did have a couple of good looks however in the first seventeen minutes but both starting goaltenders were able to keep their opponent off the scoreboard. There wasn’t much else that happened in the period as both teams didn’t commit a penalty, and shots on goal were in favor of Two Rivers at 7-5 but were close to even. The one noticeable thing about the Pirates performance was their depth. Everyone was having good shifts and getting pucks in deep while making good plays. The one scary moment for Crookston came with around six minutes left when Jaren Bailey came out of the net to play the puck and turned it over giving Two Rivers a great scoring chance. Bailey was able to recover and get back to the net in time to make the save which helped keep the game tied at 0-0 after the first period.

SECOND PERIOD –
Two Rivers came out aggressively in the second period and had Crookston on their heels. The Pirates iced the puck only once or twice in the entire first period, but that was not the case in the middle frame as the Warriors applied pressure and forced Crookston to ice the puck several times to prevent a goal. Two Rivers finally broke through at the 11:13 mark of the frame. They caught Crookston in a line change and Casey Ball took a pass the length of the ice from Vince Schuehle, skated in on his backhand up the left side, changed over to his forehand in front of the net, and beat Bailey to make it a 1-0 game. After the teams couldn’t score for the majority of the game, just thirty seconds later the Warriors made it 2-0 on a beautiful backhanded shot from Eddie Auran top left corner to beat Bailey stick side. The Pirates would get an opportunity with under 4:00 remaining in the period as they would go on the Power Play for the first time in the game after a roughing call on the Warriors. It would soon be equalized unfortunately for Crookston after Jack Doda would be called for a penalty, which would result in 4V4 Hockey before the Warriors would go on the Power Play themselves. Neither team would score, and the two teams would skate into the second intermission with Two Rivers in front by a score of 2-0. The middle period had been the best one for Crookston so far this season outscoring opponents 10-8, but the Pirates were only able to get 2 shots on goal in the frame giving Two Rivers an edge in shots at 16-7 entering the final period.

THIRD PERIOD –
The Pirates came alive in the third period and quickly made things interesting. A minute in they would go on the Power Play, but come up empty. Michael Bochow would then send a shot in on net a minute later that would get knocked up into the air, and Jackson Reese skated in and knocked the rebound into the back of the net as the goaltender lost sight of the puck. It was the first goal of the season for Reese. Crookston started to outskate Two Rivers and it showed by the end of the period as the Pirates ended up outshooting the Warriors 11-6 in the final frame. Crookston continued to give themselves chances but Two Rivers was sound defensively and as the minutes ran off, coach Josh Hardy decided to use his timeout with 4:01 remaining in the game. The Pirates got a couple of decent looks in on net, but as the 1:00 mark approached, coach Hardy decided it was time to pull Bailey for the extra attacker. Two Rivers would force the puck down into the Pirates zone, intercept a pass, and Will Auran would rifle a shot into the back of the net with just thirty-four seconds remaining in the game. The final seconds would run off without much happening, giving Two Rivers a tightly contested 3-1 victory over the Pirates. Jaren Bailey suffered the loss in net for Crookston making 19 saves while Tyler Ouren picked up the win for Two Rivers making 17 saves.

Crookston falls to 1-4 on the season with the loss and will play at Thief River Falls on Tuesday night. Two Rivers improves to 6-0-1 with the win.