by Scott DCamp
Sports Editor
Thief River Falls defeated Waseca 6-2 Thursday night (Jan. 25) to cap the opening day of Hockey Day Minnesota held at Warroad High School.
The win over the Blue Jays jump-started a three games in three days stretch for the Prowlers. The Prowlers also defeated the Greenway of Coleraine Raiders by a score of 5-0 on senior night at the Ralph Engelstad Arena, Friday, before falling to the Hibbing Bluejackets Saturday afternoon at the Ralph by a score of 5-3.
“Hockey Day was a great experience for the boys,” said Thief River Falls Head Coach Tim Bergland. “They did a very nice job putting together the event and our boys were very excited to be a part of it.”
Hockey Day Minnesota, originally a one-day event, has evolved into a four-day outdoor hockey extravaganza. Crews began constructing the temporary outdoor ice arena at the site of Warroad High School’s football field in late December.
The Thief River Falls vs. Waseca match-up was one of three games to be played on day two, immediately following the Warroad vs. Lakeville North JV game and preceding the Lake of the Woods vs. Kittson County Central game.
Bergland said the experience was a unique one for his team.
“Playing outside and under the lights does not happen very often on that stage,” Bergland said. “I thought we played very well from start to finish without a lot of distractions from the event, which is not easy. I really liked our intensity and commitment to detail.”
The Prowlers scored twice each period, with goals from Joe Kelly (2), Bennett Borgen, Cooper Anderson, Brayden Spears and Paul Anderson.
Senior goaltender Conner Roff saved all 24 shots he faced before exiting to give junior Noah Gonzales some ice time in the unique event.
Waseca freshman phenom Griffin Storey broke up the shutout on a breakaway with just under five minutes remaing. He would add an assist later on a goal by Hunter Anderson to push his team leading points total to 37.
On Friday, the Prowlers recognized the team’s 12 seniors for their contributions to Prowler Hockey. Seniors recognized include: Cooper Andreson, Max Arlt, Blake Bugge, Jace Erickson, Tucker Howe, Kennett Kezar, Braydin Lund, Evan Paschke, Trian Petrescue, Conner Roff, Brayden Spears and Gabe Winter.
Spencer Anderson, Arlt, Joe Kelly, Rylan Leake and Cooper Anderson scored goals, and Roff turned back all five Greenway shots on goal to give the Prowlers a 5-0 win.
“On Friday against Coloraine, it was a lot of the same,” Bergland said. “We didn’t bury our chances and the game was not a gimme by any means. We really limited their scoring chances and had their shots I think at five total, which I really liked. Fun to see Joe Kelly score again after two goals at Hockey Day.”
Saturday, the Prowlers got off to a slow start against a Hibbing team that was seeking its fifth straight win. In a battle of state-ranked teams, the 14th-ranked Blue Jackets defeated the 12th-ranked Prowlers 5-3.
“Saturday, we took our foot off the gas and mentally were not sharp for about the first period,” Bergland said. “After that we started playing hard again, but at that point we were down by three.”
The Prowlers took a 1-0 lead on Spencer Anderson’s goal 27 seconds into the game, but the lead would be short-lived. The Bluejackets picked up a pair of first period goals from Kelin Elsner and a goal by Jackson Strukel to make it 3-0 after one period was in the books.
The Bluejackets added to their lead at 2:21 of the second period to make it a 4-1 game. The Prowlers got back into the game on Spencer Anderson’s second goal of the game at 3:43 of the second period, but the Blue Jackets completing the hat trick to make it 5-2.
Jace Erickson scored on a power play with 3:21 left to get the Prowlers back to within three goals, and that score would stand for the remainder of the game.
“Had we buried some of our chances earlier, it surely would’ve been a different game,” Bergland said. “A lot of very good looks and I really liked how we finished the game, but hopefully that is a lesson learned.”
Scoring
1 2 3 T
Waseca 0 0 2 2
Thief River Falls 2 2 2 6
First period – TRF, Joseph Kelly (Jaxon Boyer, Rylan Leake) 5:48; TRF, Bennett Borgen (Brayden Spears, Jace Erickson) 12:54.
Second period – TRF, Cooper Anderson (Max Arlt, Jace Erickson) 6:19; TRF, Brayden Spears (Max Arlt) 9:11.
Third period – TRF, Joseph Kelly (Evan Paschke) 2:58; W, Griffin Storey (Beckett Srp, Brayden Hesch-Priese) 11:40; TRF, Paul Anderson (Rylan Leake, Bennett Borgan) (PP) 13:05; W, Hunter Anderson (Griffin Storey) 15:55.
Shots – Waseca 13-11-6 – 30; TRF 11-7-10 – 28
Power plays – Waseca 0-for-3; TRF 1-for-3.
Penalties – Waseca 3 (6 minutes); TRF 4 (8 minuttes).
Goalie saves – Waseca 24, TRF, Conner Roff 24; Noah Gonzales 4.
Scoring
1 2 3 T
Greenway 0 0 0 0
Thief River Falls 1 1 3 5
First period – TRF, Spencer Anderson (Cooper Anderson) 16:54.
Second period – TRF, Max Arlt (Cooper Anderson) 12:07.
Third period – TRF, Joseph Kelly (Gabe Winter, Jackson Boyer) 3:32; TRF, Rylan Leake 7:14; TRF, Cooper Anderson (Rylan Leake, Spencer Anderson) 10:42.
Shots – Greenway 2-0-3 – 5; TRF 8-12-18 – 38.
Power plays – Greenway 0-for-5; TRF 0-for-4.
Penalties – Greenway 4 (8 minutes); TRF 5 (10 minutes).
Goalie saves – Greenway 33; TRF, Conner Roff 5.
Scoring
1 2 3 T
Hibbing/Chisholm 3 2 0 5
Thief River Falls 1 1 1 3
First period – TRF, Spencer Anderson 0:27; H/C, Kelin Elsner (Tate Swanson, Isaiah Hildebrand) 3:38; H/C, Jackson Strukel (Tyler Raatsi, Joey Gabardi) 6:53; H/C, Kelin Elsner (Tate Swanson) 9:29.
Second period – H/C, Tate Swanson (Isaiah Hildebrand, Ethan Sundvall) 2:21; TRF, Spencer Anderson (Cooper Anderson) 3:43; H/C, Kelin Elsner (Tate Swanson) 4:41.
Third period – TRF, Jace Erickson (PP) (Tucker Howe, Max Arlt) 13:39.
Shots – H/C 12-14-4 – 30; TRF 12-11-10 – 33.
Power plays – H/C 0-for-3; TRF 1-for-5.
Penalties – H/C 6 (12 minutes); TRF 4 (8 minutes).
Goalie saves – H/C, Gavin Lamphere 30; TRF, Conner Roff 25.
Mariucci
Conf. overall pts
EGF 4-1-1 13-6-1 9
Warroad 4-1-0 16-3-0 8
Roseau 3-3-1 14-5-1 6
Moorhead 2-0-0 7-10-1 4
Bemidji 2-4-0 6-11-1 4
Thief River Falls 2-4-0 12-7-1 4
Crookston 0-4-0 9-9-0 0
Results
■ Tuesday, Jan. 23 – Moorhead 7, St. Michael-Albertville 4; Roseau 7, Bemijdi 3; Crookston 7, Kittson County Central 0; Grand Forks Central 4, East Grand Forks 3.
■ Thursday, Jan. 25 – Thief River Falls 6, Waseca 2; East Grand Forks 11, Crookston 0; Wayzata 5, Roseau 4.
■ Friday, Jan. 26 – Thief River Falls 5, Greenway 0; Bemidji 4, Cloquet/Esko/Carlson 2; Hibbing/Chisholm 8, Crookston 1.
■ Saturday, Jan. 27 – Wayzata 5, Moorhead 2; Hibbing/Chisholm 5, Thief River Falls 3; Sartell 2, Bemidji 1; Warroad 6, Roseau 2.