The Park Rapids-Menahga-Nevis-Walker-Hackensack-Akeley boys hockey team couldn’t take advantage of 12 penalties as Thief River Falls skated to a 5-1 win Tuesday night at the Ralph Engelstad Arena.
Chase Brand opened the scoring 2:44 into the game to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead. Connor Kennedy and Matt DeLaHunt assisted on that goal.
A pair of goals by Ethan Johnson gave Thief River Falls a 2-1 lead after the first period as the Prowlers held a 9-3 edge in shots.
A goal by Wyatt Ortloff and a shorthanded goal by Keaton Huot extended the Prowlers’ lead to 4-1 after the second period. Park Rapids went 0 for 3 on the power play in that period.
The Panthers also failed to score on three power-play chances in the third period as a goal by Jorde Sturgeon concluded the scoring.
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Thief River Falls, which finished with a 26-15 advantage in shots, improved to 3-1 against Section 8A opponents and 7-6 overall. The Prowlers are rated No. 8 in the latest state Class A poll.
Ben Naugle finished with 21 saves for the Panthers, who fell to 2-5 against section teams and 5-8 overall.
Park Rapids 1 0 0…1
Thief River Falls 2 2 1…5
FIRST PERIOD: 1, Park Rapids, Brand (Kennedy, DeLaHunt), 2:44. 1, Thief River Falls, Johnson (Huot, Sanders), 9:22. 2, Thief River Falls, Johnson, 13:23. Penalties: None.
SECOND PERIOD: 3, Thief River Falls, Ortloff, 3:10. 4, Thief River Falls, Huot (Johnson), 4:33. Penalties: Park Rapids 0, Thief River Falls 3.
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THIRD PERIOD: 5, Thief River Falls, Sturgeon (Ortloff, Lee), 10:16. Penalties: Park Rapids 2, Thief River Falls 3.
GOALIE SAVES: Park Rapids (Naugle) 7-7-7-21. Thief River Falls (Nelson) 2-6-6-14.
