by Scott DCamp
Sports Editor
The Crookston Boys Hockey Team extended its winning streak to seven games with a dominant 8-1 win over Princeton Saturday afternoon at the Crookston Sports Center.
The Pirates took control early with five first-period goals, while outshooting the Tigers 10-1 in the period. Scoring first period goals for the Pirates were Masen Reitmeier, Greyson Ecker, Isaiah Donarski and Jay Reese with a pair of goals.
Recording first-period assists for the Pirates were Cody Demarais (2), Gavin Aakhus, Reese (2), Garrett Fischer (3) and Hamre.
Fischer’s third assist of the period came on a power play goal with 1:47 left to play before the first intermission, and it gave Fischer exactly 100 points in his career.
The Pirates were up 5-0 with 4:13 left to play in the second period when Fischer scored his 101st career point on an unassisted goal.
The Tigers got on the board with 17 seconds remaining in the second period on a goal by Mason Clark with Lukas Bratulich on the assist.
Rounding out the scoring for the Pirates were a pair of unassisted goals. Ecker scored his second of the night 3:27 into the final period and Fischer scored his second goal and fifth of the night with 5:30 remaining.
Crookston goalie Brady Chandler faced just 16 shots on the night and turned away 15 of them to pick up the win.Pirates suffer first loss
Crookston’s unbeaten streak to start the 2025-26 season ended in the eighth game of the season with a 3-1 loss to Section 8A rival Thief River Falls Monday night at the Crookston Sports Center.
Thief River Falls broke a scoreless tie 4:31 into the opening period with a goal by Hudson Hall and assists credited to Hudson Brouse and Ian Winter.
The Prowlers added to their lead with just under 10 minutes remaining in the second period with an unassisted goal by Beckem Johnson.
Thief River Falls went up 3-0 with 9:37 left to play in regulation on a goal by Jed Kelly with an assist credited to Ryan Flaagan.
The Pirates broke up the shutout on a power play goal by Fischer with 4:44 remaining, with an assist by Reese.
Chandler defended 26 of the 29 shots he faced in his first loss of the season.
Thief River Falls goaltender Cooper Roff faced 18 shots on goal and finished with 17 saves to earn the win.
The Prowlers improved to 4-6 so far in 2025-26, while the Pirates fell to 6-1-1.
Scoring
1 2 3 T
Princeton 0 1 0 1
Crookston 5 1 2 8
First period – Crookston, Masen Reitmeier (Cody Demarais, Gavin Aakhus) 5:02; Crookston, Greyson Ecker (even strength) (Jay Reese, Garrett Fischer) 6:05; Crookston, Isaiah Donarski (Jay Reese, Garrett Fischer) 7:45; Crookston, Jay Reese (power play) (Garrett Fischer, Tate Hamre) 15:13; Crookston, Jay Reese (even strength) (Cody Demarais) 16:27.
Second period – Crookston, Garrett Fischer (unassisted) 12:47; Princeton, Mason Clark (Lukas Bratulich) 16:43.
Third period – Crookston, Greyson Ecker (unassisted) 3:27; Crookston, Garrett Fischer (unassisted) 11:30.
Shots – Princeton, Zachary Ennis 22; TRF, Brady Chandler 15.
Power plays – Princeton 0-for-4; TRF 1-for-2.
Penalties – Princeton 2 (4 minutes); Crookston 4 (8 minutes).
Goalie saves – Princeton, Zachary Ennis 22; Crookston, Brady Chandler.
Scoring
1 2 3 T
Thief River Falls 1 1 1 3
Crookston 0 0 1 1
First period – Thief River Falls, Hudson Hall (Hudson Brouse, Ian Winter) 4:31.
Second period – Thief River Falls, Beckem Johnson (unassisted) 7:03.
Third period – Thief River Falls, Jed Kelly (Ryan Flaagan) 7:23; Crookston, Garrett Fischer (power play) (Jay Reese) 12:16
Shots – Thief River Falls 8-13-8 – 29; Crookston 5-6-7 – 18.
Power plays – Thief River Falls 0-for-6; Crookston 1-for-8.
Penalties – Thief River Falls 11 (30 minutes); Crookston 8 (16 minutes).
Goalie saves – TRF, Cooper Roff 17; Crookston, Brady Chandler 26.
Mariucci Conference
Conf. overall pts
Warroad 3-1-0 8-2-0 6
Moorhead 2-0-0 8-1-0 4
Roseau 2-1-0 3-6-0 4
Bemidji 2-2-0 5-3-0 4
Thief River Falls 1-3-0 4-6-0 2
Crookston 0-1-0 6-1-1 0
East Grand Forks 0-2-0 2-7-1 0
Results
■ Tuesday, Dec. 16 – Bemidji 2, East Grand Forks 0; Warroad 6, Thief River Falls 0.
■ Friday, Dec. 19 – Moorhead 7, Andover 3; Thief River Falls 9, Princeton 2.
■ Saturday, Dec. 20 – Detroit Lakes 3, East Grand Forks 2; Crookston 8, Princeton 1; Thief River Falls 6, Sauk Rapids-Rice 2; Minnetonka 4, Moorhead 2.
■ Monday, Dec. 22 – Thief River Falls 3, Crookston 1; Roseau 4, Bemidji 3; Grand Forks Central 5, East Grand Forks 1.
