by Scott DCamp
Sports Editor
Thief River Falls rallied twice – first from a 3-1 deficit and later from a 5-4 deficit – in its 6-5 overtime win over Northern Lakes Friday night at the Huck Olson Memorial Civic Center in Thief River Falls.
The Lightning, who brought a 4-1 record into Friday night’s game, lived up to their nickname with a pair of goals in the first six minutes. Jacob Peterson pushed the puck past Thief River Falls goaltender Noah Gonzales 2:01 into the contest.
An Andrew Rogalla slashing penalty at 4:42 of the first period set up the Lightning’s next goal, with Easton Anderson scoring 54 seconds into the power play.
The Prowlers got on the board with a shorthanded goal by Spencer Anderson just 30 seconds after Easton Anderson’s score to make it 2-1.
Another slashing call, this time on Parker Lundgren, gave the Lightning an extra skater and they took advantage with a power play goal by Drew Paulbeck with 9:20 remaining in the first.
The Prowlers got their chance to play with a man-advantage in the second period. Back-to-back roughing penalties on the Lightning gave the Prowlers a brief 5-on-3 opportunity and they took advantage with a goal by Paul Anderson – his fifth of the season – 2:14 into the second period, with assists by Rylan Leake and Spencer Anderson.
The score remained 3-2 in favor of the Lightning for the remainder of the second period and the first nine minutes of the third period.
The Prowlers tied the game on Hudson Brouse’s first goal of the season with 7:28 remaining. Jackson Boyer assisted on the play. The Prowlers took their first lead of the night on Jameson Hurst’s first goal of the season, with an assist credited to Paul Anderson, with 4:44 remaining.
The Lightning regained the lead with a pair of goals by Parker Fulton in a 32-second span, with the latter coming with 3:27 left in regulation.
With 1:20 left in regulation, Gannon Gonsorowski scored the game-tying goal, with assists by Spencer Anderson and Leake.
A slashing penalty by Northern Lakes’ Wyatt Balmer 59 seconds into overtime gave the Prowlers a chance to win the game on a power play goal. That goal never came, however, and the teams returned to even strength at the 3-minute mark.
Twenty-six seconds after the teams returned to even strength, Spencer Anderson scored the game-winner, his second goal of the night, with assist by Masson Collins and Paul Anderson.
Hunter Moreland got the start in front of the net for the Lightning but left the game due to injury shortly after allowing his second goal. He saved 15 of 17 shots faced. Damon John entered the game following Moreland’s injury and finished with 19 saves and four goals allowed.
Thief River Falls also used two goalies with Noah Gonzales and Cooper Roff combining to save 28 of 33 shots on goal.
Scoring
1 2 3 OT T
Northern Lakes 3 0 2 0 5
Thief River Falls 1 1 3 1 6
First period – NL, Jacob Peterson (Finn Fogarty, Anthony Noyes) 2:01; NL, Easton Anderson (power play) (Grant Vershey) 5:36; TRF, Spencer Anderson (short handed) 6:06; NL, Drew Paulbeck (power play) (Jerome Martin, Wyatt Balmer) 7:40.
Second period – TRF, Paul Anderson (power play) (Rylan Leake, Spencer Anderson) 2:14.
Third period – TRF, Hudson Brouse (Jackson Boyer) 9:32; TRF, Jameson Hurst (Paul Anderson) 12:16; NL, Parker Fulton Leyton Cable, Drew Paulbeck) 13:01; NL, Parker Fulton (Jerome Martin, Bodie Nybakken) 13:33; TRF – Gannon Gonsorowski (Spencer Anderson, Rylan Leake) 15:40.
Overtime – TRF – Spencer Anderson (Masson Collins, Paul Anderson) 3:26.
Shots – NL 6-14-12-1 – 33; TRF 10-7-16-7 – 40
Power plays – NL 2/8; TRF 1/6.
Penalties – NL 6 (12 minutes; TRF 8 (16 minutes).
Goalie saves – NL, Damon John 19; NL, Hunter Moreland 15; TRF, Noah Gonzales/Cooper Roff 28.
Mariucci
Conf. overall pts
Bemidji 1-0-0 6-1-0 2
Moorhead 1-0-0 6-1-0 2
Roseau 1-1-0 5-3-1 2
Crookston 0-0-0 5-2-1 0
East Grand Forks 0-0-0 3-5-1 0
Warroad 0-0-0 3-2-1 0
Thief River Falls 0-2-0 2-4-0 0
Results
■ Monday, Dec. 9 – Crookston 2, Bagley/Fosston 1.
■ Tuesday, Dec. 10 – Moorhead 9, Roseau 0; Bemidji 6, Brainerd 3; Detroit Lakes 4, Crookston 4.
■ Friday, Dec. 13 – Bemidji 9, Buffalo 2; Crookston 7, St. Paull johnson 1; Roseau 3, Sartell 2; Orono 2, East Grand Forks 2; Thief River Falls 6, Northern Lakes 5; Mahtomedi 4, Warroad 0.
■ Saturday, Dec. 14 – Roseau 3, Buffalo 1; East Grand Forks 3, Mahtomedi 1; Fergus Falls 3, Crookston 1; Warroad 5, Orono 1; Moorhead 8, Elk River/Zimmerman 2.