by Scott DCamp
Sports Editor
The Thief River Falls boys hockey team opened the 2023-24 season at home Friday, Nov. 24 with a 2-2 tie against 2023 state consolation champion St. Cloud Cathedral.
“We knew we would have a good game against a good team that didn’t really lose a lot of guys, not unlike us,” said Tim Bergland, Thief River Falls head coach. “It was good test for us right off the hop.”
The Prowlers had scoring chances early in the first period, but it was the Crusaders who got on the board as Landon Swenson scored at the 4:21 mark, with Cole Hwang and Jaeger Wood assisting.
“We played very well the first five to seven minutes of the game, other than we were down 1-0,” Bergland said. “We got on the power play and had a couple power play goals to close out the period with a 2-1 lead.”
Spencer Hempel tied the game on a power play goal with 4:57 left in the opening period, with 2022-23 leading scorer Max Arlt and Jace Erickson credited with assists on the play.
The Prowlers were on the power play again following a roughing penalty by Swenson with 1:42 left in the period. This time, it was Cooper Anderson who pushed the puck past Crusader goalie Nick Hansen with 1:33 left in the period.
The game tightened up in the second period, with neither team generating offense.
“Second period, it was kind of a chess match; not a lot of chances on either side,” Bergland said. “We went into the third with a 2-1 lead, which is what you want playing at home.”
The Prowlers were still in front by one with 2:55 left to play in the game when the Crusaders scored the game-tying goal off the stick of Griffin Sturm. Joey Gillespie and John Hirschfeld were credited with assists on the Crusaders’ power play goal.
“We got into some penalty trouble, and they got a fluky goal,” Bergland said.
The Prowlers and Crusaders combined for eight shots on goal in the eight-minute overtime period.
“Overtime, I thought we played well,” Bergland said. “We had some very nice chances. It was unfortunate that we didn’t get to come away with a win, but we were happy with the way we played.”
Thief River Falls senior goaltender and second-year starter Conner Roff turned away 33 of the Crusaders 35 shots on goal during the contest, and finished with a .943 save percentage.
“Conner played a very nice game,” Bergland said. “He didn’t have to stand on his head, but he made some key saves for us. He made a nice save on an odd man rush in the first period that set the tone for us for the rest of the game.”
Bergland was also impressed with the combined effort from his team as a whole.
“Everyone played a team game,” Bergland said. “There wasn’t selfishness or finger pointing. I’m hoping this is a sign of what kind of team we will have.”
Scoring
1 2 3 ot T
SC Cathedral 1 0 1 0 2
Thief River Falls 2 0 0 0 2
First period – SCC, Landon Swenson (even strength) (Cole Hwang, Jaeger Wood) 4:21; TRF, T Spencer Hempel (power play) (Max Arlt, Jace Erickson) 12:03; TRF, Cooper Anderson (power play) (Spencer Hempel, Max Arlt) 15:27.
Second period – No Score
Third period – SCC, Griffin Sturm (power play) (Joey Gillespie, John Hirschfeld) 14:05.
Shots – SCC 6-13-11-5 – 35; TRF 13-5-3-3 – 24.
Power plays – SCC 1-for-6; TRF 2-for-5.
Penalties – SCC 7 (14 minutes); TRF 8 (16 minutes)
Goalie saves – SCC, Nick Hansen 22; TRF, Conner Roff 33.