Panthers avenge loss to RLF, shut out Greenway

     Pete Stahnke’s philosophy has always been to use the regular season to get the Park Rapids-Menahga-Nevis-Walker-Hackensack-Akeley boys hockey team ready for the Section 8A playoffs.

     The Panthers appear to be peaking at the right time.

     In two games at Walker, the Panthers extended their winning streak to three games in a row with a 2-1 victory over Red Lake Falls Thursday night and a 4-0 win over Greenway Saturday afternoon.

     Those two wins lifted the Panthers’ record to 11-12 with two regular-season games remaining.

Panthers avenge loss to RLF

     Park Rapids avenged a 3-2 overtime loss at Red Lake Falls earlier in the season by using a 27-9 advantage in shots for a Section 8A win.

     After a scoreless first period, Micah Barrett scored a shorthanded goal at the 7:45 mark of the second period to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead.

     Alex Erickson tied the game with a goal at the 10:59 mark before Chase Brand scored the game-winner at the 13:25 mark. Kiefer Miller and Connor Kennedy assisted on that power-play goal.

     Goalie Austin Jerger stopped eight shots for the win as the Panthers improved to 4-9 in the section.

     Red Lake Falls fell to 3-7 in the section and 11-10-1 overall.

Red Lake Falls            0    1      0…1

Park Rapids                0    2      0…2

FIRST PERIOD: No scoring. Penalties: RLF 0, Park Rapids 1.

SECOND PERIOD: 1, Park Rapids, Barrett, 7:45. 1, RLF, Erickson, 10:59. 2, Park Rapids, Brand (Miller, Kennedy), 13:25. Penalties: RLF 1, Park Rapids 1.

THIRD PERIOD: No scoring. Penalties: RLF 0, Park Rapids 1.

GOALIE SAVES: RLF (Schmitz) 7-10-8-25. Park Rapids (Jerger) 3-2-3-8.

Panthers shut out Greenway

     Jerger stopped all 22 shots he faced for his second shutout in the last three games as the Panthers posted their third shutout of the season.

     Brand set up Kennedy at the 1:05 mark and Miller for a power-play goal at the 15:11 mark as the Panthers led 2-0 after the first period. Jarrett Johnson also had an assist on Miller’s goal.

     Kennedy scored on an assist from Cole Coborn at the 5:04 mark of the second period as the Panthers led 3-0.

     Kennedy and Brand assisted on a power-play goal by Miller at the 6:13 mark of the third period to conclude the scoring.

     Greenway, which was outshot 30-22, fell to 11-11.

Greenway                   0    0      0…0

Park Rapids                2    1      1…4

FIRST PERIOD: 1, Park Rapids, Kennedy (Brand), 1:05. 2, Park Rapids, Miller (Brand, Johnson), 15:11. Penalties: Greenway 2, Park Rapids 1.

SECOND PERIOD: 3, Park Rapids, Kennedy (Coborn), 5:04. Penalties: Greenway 1, Park Rapids 3.

THIRD PERIOD: 4, Park Rapids, Miller (Kennedy, Brand), 6:13. Penalties: Greenway 1, Park Rapids 1.

GOALIE SAVES: Greenway (S. LaDoux) 9-8-5-22. Park Rapids (Jerger) 11-9-6-26.