by Scott Dcamp
Sports Editor
Playing at home for the first time during the 2022-23 season, Thief River Falls rallied from two goals down on two occasions to secure a 5-5 tie with Detroit Lakes Friday night at the Ralph Engelstad Arena.
“It was a very exciting game for the fans,” said Thief River Falls Head Coach Tim Bergland. “We did a lot of good things and we made some mistakes as well. They are a nice hockey team. We came out strong, which was nice because we hadn’t been doing that. I felt we had some defensive lapses that cost us some goals. I’m sure they would say the same thing.”
The Prowlers were staked to an early lead when Tucker Howe buried the puck 5:13 into the first period, with Max Arlt recording the first of his three assists.
The Lakers answered a couple of minutes later with Tommy Suckert scoring on a power play.
The Lakers took a 3-1 lead on a pair of goals early in the second period. Cole Deraney scored with 11:27 left in the period and Easton Wahl scored less than two minutes later to give the Lakers a two-goal advantage.
With 1:02 left in the second period, the Prowlers began their comeback with a goal by Arlt and assists by Braydin Lund and Tysen Loeffler.
The Prowlers tied the game with 9:26 left in regulation on Jace Erickson goal and assist by Arlt.
The score was tied for exactly 28 seconds as the Lakers regained the lead on an Aiden Kennedy goal with 8:58 left to play.
Cole Deraney scored his second goal of the night a little over a minute later to put the Lakers in front 5-3 with 7:42 left to play.
The Prowlers needed a spark and they got it from sophomore forward Paul Anderson, who scored his first varsity goal with 5:02 left to make the score 5-4.
A minute and a half later, the Prowlers tied the game on Lund’s second goal of the season. Rylan Leake and Jaxon Hams assisted on Anderson’s goal, while Howe and Arlt were credited with assists on Lund’s game-tying goal.
“It was nice to come back when we were down two with six or seven minutes left,” Bergland said. “We got some more consistent play from guys who stepped it up and played more like they are capable of playing. Nice goal by Paul Anderson, his first varsity goal and the one that got us going in the third period.”
The Prowlers outshot the Lakers down the stretch, including a 10-6 advantage in overtime, but none of them found the net.
“We had a few nice looks the rest of the game where we could have buried and won the game but we tied,” Bergland said. “There were some positives for sure, which is nice to see.”
The Prowlers have four games scheduled over the next eight days. After hosting Crookston on Tuesday night, the Prowlers travel to the Twin Cities for games against Gentry Academy Totino-Grace Friday and Saturday, respectively, before returning home to Warroad on Tuesday, Dec. 20.
Scoring
123otT
Detroit Lakes 1 2 2 0 5
Thief River Falls11305
First period – TRF, Tucker Howe (Max Arlt) 5:13; DL, Tommy   (power play) (Jace Fields, Cole Larson) 7:22;
Second period – DL, Cole Deraney (Ben Hines, Easton Kennedy) 5:33; DL, Easton Wahl (Grady Kirschner, Chase Kukowski) 7:23; TRF, Max Arlt (Braydin Lund, Tysen Loeffler) 15:58.
Third period – TRF, Jace Erickson (Max Arlt) 7:34; DL, Aiden Kennedy (Tommy Suckert, Jace Fields) 7:34; DL, Cole Deraney (Easton Kennedy, Jack Turner) 9:18; TRF, Paul Anderson (Rylan Leake, Jaxon Hams) 11:58; TRF, Braydin Lund (Tucker Howe, Max Arlt) 13:30.
Shots – DL 11-9-11-6 – 37; TRF 6-8-10-10 – 34.
Power plays – DL 1-for-3; TRF 0-for-2.
Penalties – DL 4 (8 minutes); TRF 5 (10 minutes).
Goalie saves – DL, Josh Mack 29; TRF Conner Roff 32.