Boys Hockey: Bagley/Fosston dominates third period, rallies for win over Park Rapids

BAGLEY – Five unanswered goals in the third period propelled Bagley/Fosston to a 6-4 Section 8A win over the Park Rapids-Menahga-Nevis-Walker-Hackensack-Akeley boys hockey team at the Bagley Youth Hockey Arena on Monday, Feb. 6.

Jeron Pinoniemi’s hat trick gave the Panthers a 3-1 lead entering the final period. Joey Hillukka set up Pinoniemi for a power-play goal at the 9:48 mark before Pinoniemi scored again at the 14:29 mark as Park Rapids led 2-0 after the first period despite being outshot 11-8.

After Quinten Friborg scored 3:29 into the second period, Josh Hillukka assisted on Pinoniemi’s third goal of the game at the 14:19 mark as the Panthers finished that period with a 16-8 advantage in shots.

The Flyers dominated the final period, using a 22-10 advantage in shots to rally for the win. Markus Olson tied the game at 3-3 by scoring 2:12 into the period and 25 seconds later. Friborg’s goal at the 7:00 mark and Breckin Levin’s goal at the 8:39 mark made it 5-3 before Friborg scored into an empty net with 1:59 to play. The Panthers’ Finn Henry scored his first varsity goal to conclude the scoring with 1:17 remaining. Park Rapids had a 5-on-3 advantage in that period, but couldn’t capitalize. The Panthers went 1 for 6 on power-play opportunities.

Goalie Sawyer Torkelson made 35 saves as the Panthers fell to 5-4-1 in section games and 12-7-1 overall.

Bagley/Fosston, which lost to the Panthers 6-5 in overtime earlier this season, improved to 6-3 against section teams and 14-8 overall. The Flyers finished with a 41-34 edge in shots.