by Scott DCamp
Sports Editor
The Crookston Pirate girls hockey dropped its home opener against the Fort Frances Muskies (Ontario) Saturday by a score of 4-2, before falling by a 2-1 margin against the East Grand Forks Green Wave Tuesday night at the East Grand Forks Civic Arena.
On Saturday, the Pirates found their offense a little too late. Bella Fry scored power play goals in each of the first two periods to stake the Muskies to a 2-0 lead. Payton Harbluk added an even strength goal with 5:18 left to play in the second and Peyton Arpin scored 1:23 into the third to make it 4-0 in favor of the Muskies.
The Pirates battled back. Adley Vigness broke up the shutout with an unassisted goal with 6:57 remaining. A little over two minutes later, Peyton Demarais found the net to make it 4-2. The Pirates had additional scoring chances late but couldn’t find the net as the Muskies held on for the win.
Picking up the lone assist for the Pirates was Logan Brekken.
Crookston goaltender Madilyn Abrams finished with 22 saves in the 4-2 loss.
Two days later, the Pirates found themselves in a defensive battle with the Green Wave.
East Grand Forks took a 1-0 lead when Sydney McDonald slid the puck past Abrams. Blake Schultz and Laurel Kolstoe were credited with assists for the Green Wave.
There was no scoring for the next 27 minutes as the teams traded scoring chances. The Green Wave went up 2-0 17 seconds into the third period on an unassisted shorthanded goal by Schultz.
The Pirates cut the deficit to one goal with 4:32 remaining on a goal by Emma LaPlante, with assists by Catelyn Maruska and Jensen Stinar.
The Pirates needed a goal to tie but were unable to get the puck past EGF goaltender Reese Kvasager, who finished the night with 21 saves.
The Pirates were back in action Thursday night against Moorhead. Results from that game will appear in next week’s edition of The Crookston Watch. Scoring
1 2 3 T
Fort Frances (ON) 1 2 1 4
Crookston 0 0 2 2
First period – Fort Frances, Bella Fry (Sienna Tom, Logan Neurinski) (power play) 5:48.
Second period – Fort Frances, Bella Fry (Logan Neurinski) (power play) 5:11; Fort Frances, Payton Harbluk (Sophia Tanguay) 11:42.
Third period – Fort Frances, Petyon Arpin (Bella Fry) 1:23; Crookston, Adley Vigness (unassisted) 10:03; Crookston, Peyton Demarais (power play) (Logan Brekken) 12:27.
Shots – Fort Frances 11-8-8 – 27; Crookston 6-8-15 – 29.
Power plays – Fort Frances 2-for-4; Crookston 0-for-0.
Penalties – Fort Frances 0; Crookston 4 (8 minutes)
Goalie saves – Fort Frances, Shaya Shute 27; Crookston, Madilyn Abrams 22.
Scoring
1 2 3 T
Crookston 0 0 1 1
East Grand Forks 1 0 1 2
First period – EGF, Sydney McDonald (Blake Schultz, Laurel Kolstoe) 7:05.
Second period – No Score
Third period – EGF, Blake Schultz 0:17; Crookston, Emma LaPlante (power play) (Catelyn Maruska, Jensen Stinar) 12:28
Shots – Crookston 7-8-7 – 22; East Grand Forks 8-7-9 – 24.
Power plays – Crookston 1-for-9; East Grand Forks 0-for-3.
Penalties – Crookston 3 (6 minutes); East Grand Forks 9 (18 minutes).
Goalie saves – Crookston, Madilyn Abrams 22; East Grand Forks, Reese Kvasager 21.
Greater Minnesota
Conf. overall pts
Bemidji 3-0-0 4-0-0 6
Roseau 2-1-0 2-2-0 4
East Grand Forks 1-2-0 3-2-0 2
Thief River Falls 1-2-0 2-2-0 2
Moorhead 0-0-0 2-2-0 0
Warroad 0-0-0 2-0-0 0
Crookston 0-2-0 0-3-0 0
Results
■ Thursday, Nov. 13 – Bemidji 6, Thief River Falls 1.
■ Friday, Nov. 14 – Moorhead 7, Buffalo 3; East Grand Forks 6, Fort Frances (ON) 1.
■ Saturday, Nov. 15 – Fort Frances (ON) 4, Crookston 2; Moorhead 6, Northfield 3; Thief River Falls 13, International Falls 0; Warroad 1, Westonka/SWC 0.
■ Tuesday, Nov. 18 – Bemidji 4, Roseau 1; East Grand Forks 2, Crookston 1.
