by Scott DCamp
Sports Editor
The Thief River Falls girls hockey team ended the first half of its season on a high note Friday night with a 5-2 win over Detroit Lakes at Cardin-Hunt Arena in Red Lake Falls. The win snaps a five-game losing streak for the Prowlers.
“It has been a grind the last few weeks, and it was good to see the girls get rewarded with a win for all of their hard work,” said Head Coach Brett Johnson. “These girls have been working hard all season long. We play a very difficult schedule to help us get ready for the postseason. We look at it as 25 exhibition games to push us to be the best we can be. We never lose – we learn and get better.”
The Prowlers defeated the Lakers 7-1 when the teams met at Kent Freeman Arena in Detroit Lakes on Nov. 13. The Prowlers started fast in the teams’ first encounter and that was the case again Friday night as Lila Dalager shot the puck past Detroit Lakes goaltender Talyn Anderson on a rebound shot 1:07 into the contest. Parker Olsonawski was credited with an assist on the play as the Prowlers took a 1-0 lead.
“[Lila] has been playing well lately,” Johnson said. “She has slowed the game down in her head a little bit, controlled the puck more and made some nice individual plays to put herself in a good scoring position.”
The Prowlers kept the pressure on and the puck in the Lakers’ zone to set up goal by Julia Rude at 5:31 of the first period. Camille Berra was credited with an assist on the play.
The Lakers struggled to clear the puck throughout the night. They were held to just six shots on goal in each of the first two periods and just two shots in the third. The Lakers took advantage of one of those chances late in the first period, with Aurora Jabas putting her team on the board with a goal at the 15:04 mark.
The Prowlers got back on their offense midway through the second period with Kora Sorter scoring a goal at the 8:01 mark. Halle Seeger and Ava Seeger were both credited with assists on the play.
Already up 3-1, Kali Knutson scored a buzzer-beater with one second left in the second period to make it a 4-1 game. Brynn Hennen assisted on the play.
The Lakers battled back to within two goals of the Prowlers with an unassisted goal by Hannah Larson at the 2:11 mark of the third period.
The score was still 4-2 in favor of the Prowlers when Dalager scored an empty net goal with 16 seconds remaining. Miley Cota assisted on the play.
Freshmen goaltenders McKenna Carr and Faith Hartmann shared time in front of the net Friday night. Both allowed one goal and combined for 12 saves. Johnson plans to continue using both goalies.
“Right now it all depends on the day,” Johnson said. “I think we have two very capable goalies, even though they are both ninth graders and young in the position for a varsity team. They both seem to struggle with their focus in not being ready and understanding that shots can come at any time from anywhere. They both also like to sit back in their net, so we have been working on getting out of the crease to cut down the angle and staying focused and ready at all times.”
Friday night’s game was the final game at Cardin-Hunt Arena for Red Lake Falls senior Quinnlyn Kenfield.
Scoring
1 2 3 T
Detroit Lakes 1 0 1 2
Thief River Falls 2 2 1 5
First period – TRF, Lila Dalager (Parker Olsonawski) 1:07; TRF, Julia Rude (Camille Berra) 5:31; DL, Aurora Jabas (Haley Stattelman, Hannah Larson) 15:04.
Second period – TRF, Kora Sorter (Halle Seeger, Ava Seeger) 8:01; TRF, Kali Knutson (Brynn Hennen) 16:59.
Third period – DL, Hannah Larson 2:11; TRF, Lila Dalager (Miley Cota) 16:44.
Shots – DL 6-6-2 – 14; TRF 22-17-13 – 52.
Power plays – DL 0/2; TRF 0/3.
Penalties – DL 3 (6 minutes); TRF 2 (4 minutes).
Goalie saves – DL, Talyn Anderson 47; TRF, McKenna Carr 7, Faith Hartmann 5.
Scoring
1 2 3 T
Detroit Lakes JV 0 0 0 0
Thief River Falls JV 5 4 13 13
First period – TRF, AJ Brateng (Addi Lindgen) 0:12; TRF, Grace Knutson 1:42; TRF, Emmy Eickman (21) 1:59; TRF, Miley Cota (Lexi Sawazke) 6:50; TRF, Miley Cota (Ava Niebuhr) 9:21.
Second period – TRF, Halle Seeger 1:21; TRF, Teagan Pray 6:09; TRF, Ava Barrett (Ava Seeger) 11:45; TRF, Halle Seeger (Ava Barrett) 12:40.
Third period – TRF, Lexi Sawatzke 2:54; TRF, Emmy Eickman (Lexi Sawatzke) 9:59; TRF, Lexi Sawatzke 14:35; TRF, Lexi Sawatzke 16:49
Shots – DL 1-7-0 – 8; TRF, 14-13-13 – 40.
Power plays – DL 0/1; TRF N/A.
Penalties – DL N/A; TRF 1 (2 minutes.
Goalie saves – DL, Cadence Bloom 27; TRF, McKenna Carr/Faith Hartmann 8.
Greater Minnesota
Conf. overall pts
Bemidji 4-2-0 6-6-0 8
Roseau 3-1-0 6-6-0 6
Moorhead 2-0-0 8-1-1 4
Crookston 2-1-0 8-3-1 4
Warroad 1-1-0 7-2-0 2
EGF 1-3-0 6-4-0 0
Thief River Falls 0-5-0 4-8-0 0
Results
■ Tuesday, Dec. 12 – Moorhead 5, Roseau 1; Bemidji 2, Crookston 1; East Grand Forks 4, Thief River Falls 3.
■ Thursday, Dec. 14 – Crookston 5, Detroit Lakes 0; Moorhead 10, East Grand Forks 2.
■ Friday, Dec. 15 – Crookston 3, Chisago Lakes 1; Roseau 6, Brainerd/Little Falls 2; Thief River Falls 5, Detroit Lakes 2.
■ Saturday, Dec. 16 – Minnetonka 7, Bemidji 0; Moorhead 6, St. Cloud 0.