by Scott DCamp
Sports Editor
The Thief River Falls boys hockey team went 2-0 with wins over Tartan and Grafton/Park River at the Ralph Engelstad Arena Classic Friday and Saturday, Dec. 26-27.
The Prowlers opened the two-day event with a 6-4 come from behind win over the Tartan Titans on Friday night.
The Titans opened the scoring with a goal by Colton Tesser a minute and 21 seconds into the contest.
The Prowlers struggled on special teams earlier this season, but on Friday night, hey were a strength, going 5-for-5 in penalty kills and 1-for-6 power play chances. Spencer Anderson scored a shorthanded goal with 6:55 remaining in the first period to tie the game at 1-1.
A little over two minutes later, Anderson scored his second goal of the night with assists by Ian Winter and Weston Olson to give the Prowlers a 2-1 lead.
The Prowlers led 2-1 at the first intermission. Just shy of four minutes into the second frame Hudson Brouse scored an unassisted goal to make it a 3-1 Prowler advantage.
The Titans, who made the trip from Oakdale, refused to stay down. Tyler Pavel scored with 11:01 left in the second to make it a 3-2 game and Benny McClellan scored a shorthanded goal for the Titans to tie the game 29 seconds into the third period.
The game wasn’t tied for long, with Anderson recording his third straight hat trick on an unassisted goal 1:40 into the third period to put the Prowlers up 4-3.
The Titans tied things up again with a goal by Wyle Rutherford just before the halfway point in the third period with 9:16 remaining.
The Prowlers had been 0-for-5 in power play chances through two-and-a-half periods, but they got their sixth chance when Tartan’s Tyler Pavel was whistled for head contact with 6:04 remaining. This time, the Prowlers took advantage, with Winter scoring an unassisted goal on the power play to put the Prowlers in front for good.
The Titans pulled goalie Nathan McGuire in the final minute in favor of a final skater, with Thief River Falls freshman Beckem Johnson taking advantage with an unassisted empty net goal to give the Prowlers a 6-4 lead with 33 seconds remaining.
Thief River Falls goaltender Cooper Roff saved 35 of the 39 shots on goal he faced to pick up the win. McGuire took the loss for the Titans on a 30-save performance.
Thief River Falls never trailed in Saturday’s 5-2 matinee win over Grafton/Park River.
The Prowlers were staked to a 2-0 lead through one period of play with goals by Anderson and Johnson. Anderson scored a power play goal 14 seconds into a power play 2:24 into the contest, with Brouse and Jed Kelly on the assists.
Johnson scored his third goal in as many games with 6:21 left to play in the first period with an assist credited to Anderson on the play.
Following a scoreless second period, Grafton/Park River got on the board 90 seconds into the third period with Toren Beneda finding the net and Marcus Moe earning the lone assist.
The Prowlers answered three minutes later with Johnny Rogalla scoring his fourth goal of the season and Brody Radniecki picking up his fourth point and first assist of the season to make it 3-1 in favor of the Prowlers.
The Spoilers pulled back within a goal with Beneda scoring his second of the afternoon unassisted with 11:08 remaining.
It was all Prowlers from there, with Anderson scoring a pair of goals at 8:57 and 12:06, respectively, to round out the scoring for the Prowlers. Johnson, Winter and Brouse were credited with assists.
Roff faced 22 shots on goal from the Spoilers and turned away 20 to pick up his fifth consecutive win. Kaisin Twamley finished with 18 saves while taking the loss for the Spoilers.
Torrid pace
Anderson recorded his fourth hat trick of the season in Saturday’s 5-2 win over Grafton/Park River. Anderson also recorded hat tricks in four-goal games against Princeton and Sauk Rapids-Rice, along with traditional three-goal hat tricks against Tartan and Grafton/ Park River.
Anderson is currently tied with Anthony Yerxa of International Falls for the top spot in goals scored (20) and he is currently ranked 13th in points scored with 27.
Scoring
1 2 3 T
Tartan 1 1 2 4
Thief River Falls 2 1 3 6
First period – Tartan, Colton Tesser (Wyle Rutherford, Charley Campbell) 1:21; TRF, Spencer Anderson (short handed) 10:05; TRF, Spencer Anderson (Ian Winter, Weston Olson)12:46.
Second period – TRF, Hudson Brouse (unassisted) 3:51; Tartan, Tyler Pavel (Benny McClellan, Charley Campbell) 5:59.
Third period – Tartan, Benny McClellan (Quinton Remackel) 0:29; TRF, Spencer Anderson (even strength) 1:40; Tartan, Wyle Rutherford (Devon Shier) 7:44; TRF, Ian Winter (power play) 11:25; TRF, Beckem Johnson (empty net) 16:28.
Shots – Tartan 5-21-13 – 39; TRF 17-6-13 – 36.
Power plays – Tartan 0-for-5; TRF 1-for-6.
Penalties – Tartan 6 (15 minutes); TRF 5 (10 minutes).
Goalie saves – Tartan, Nathan McGuire 30; TRF, Cooper Roff 35.
Scoring
1 2 3 T
Grafton/Park River 0 0 2 2
Thief River Falls 2 0 3 5
First period – TRF, Spencer Anderson (power play) (Hudson Brouse, Jed Kelly) 2:24; TRF, Beckem Johnson (Spencer Anderson) 10:39.
Second period – No Score
Third period – G/PR, Toren Beneda (Marcus Moe) 1:30; TRF, Johnathan Rogalla (Brody Radniecki) 4:54; Grafton/Park River (ND)#5 Toren Beneda (even strength) 5:52; TRF, Spencer Anderson (Beckem Johnson) 8:57; TRF, Spencer Anderson (Ian Winter, Hudson Brouse) 12:06.
Shots – G/PR 4-5-13 – 22; TRF 6-9-8 – 23.
Power plays – G/PR 0-for-2; TRF 1-for-8.
Penalties – G/PR 9 (18 minutes); TRF 3 (6 minutes).
Goalie saves – G/PR, Kaisin Twamley 18; TRF, Cooper Roff 20.
Mariucci Conference
Conf. overall pts
Warroad 3-1-0 8-2-0 6
Moorhead 2-0-0 9-1-0 4
Roseau 2-1-0 3-6-0 4
Bemidji 2-2-0 5-3-1 4
Thief River Falls 1-3-0 6-6-0 2
Crookston 0-1-0 7-2-1 0
East Grand Forks 0-2-0 2-7-1 0
Results
■ Monday, Dec. 22 – Thief River Falls 3, Crookston 1; Roseau 4, Bemidji 3; Grand Forks Central 5, East Grand Forks 1.
■ Friday, Dec. 26 – Crookston 4, Grafton/Park River 0; Thief River Falls 6, Tartan 4.
■ Saturday, Dec. 27 – Tartan 2, Crookston 1; Thief River Falls 5, Grafton/Park River 2.