Two goals in the final 2:26 enabled Detroit Lakes to avenge a loss to the Park Rapids-Menahga-Nevis-Walker-Hackensack-Akeley boys hockey team earlier in the season as the Lakers closed out Mid-State Conference play with a 4-2 win Tuesday night at the Ted O. Johnson Ice Arena.
That win helped Detroit Lakes lock up the No. 4 seed for the Section 8A playoffs. Park Rapids finished the regular season with a 6-10-1 record against section teams and 6-17-2 overall record to earn the No. 8 seed and will host No. 9 Bagley/Fosston (3-6 in the section and 8-13-1 overall) in a play-in game Tuesday night at 7. Park Rapids defeated Bagley/Fosston 7-1 and 5-1 during the regular season.
In Tuesday night's other play-in games, No. 7 Northern Lakes (7-2 in the section and 19-4-1 overall) hosts No. 10 Red Lake Falls (2-9-1 in the section and 7-15-1 overall) and No. 6 Lake of the Woods (8-4 in the section and 13-8-1 overall) hosts No. 11 Kittson Central (0-11-2 in the section and 1-19-2 overall).
The section quarterfinals will be played Thursday, Feb. 23, with No. 1 East Grand Forks (8-1 in the section and 14-8-2 overall) hosting the winner between Park Rapids and Fosston/Bagley, No. 2 Thief River Falls (6-2 in the section and 9-14 overall) hosting the winner between Northern Lakes and Red Lake Falls, No. 3 Warroad (5-4 in the section and 9-15-1 overall) hosting the winner between Lake of the Woods and Kittson Central, and Detroit Lakes (6-3 in the section and 13-8-1 overall) hosting No. 5 Crookston (7-6 in the section and 10-14 overall). All quarterfinal games start at 7 p.m. Thief River Falls is the defending section champ while East Grand Forks is rated No. 6 in the latest state Class A poll.
Thief River Falls will host the section semifinals on Saturday, Feb. 25, and the section championship game on Thursday, March 2.
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The Panthers, who defeated the Detroit Lakes 2-1 in overtime despite being outshot 36-23 on Dec. 13, held a 32-30 edge in shots in their regular-season finale.
After a scoreless first period in which Detroit Lakes held a 10-5 edge in shots on goal, Bailey Tulius' power-play goal with 4:01 to play in the second period gave the Lakers a 1-0 lead. Park Rapids held a 16-14 edge in shots in that period.
Isaac Johnson and Shea Alto received assists on Caleb Strandlie's goal at the 4:22 mark of the third period as Park Rapids tied the game. Jack Deconcini's power-play goal at the 5:21 mark gave the Lakers a 2-1 lead before Johnson tied the game with 6:00 to play. Jeric Giwoyna scored with 2:26 remaining before Ben Unruh scored an empty-net goal with 1:18 left to seal the win. The Panthers outshot Detroit Lakes 11-6 in the final period.
The win gave Detroit Lakes a 6-2 record in the conference. Goalie Austin Jerger made 26 saves as the Panthers fell to 1-6-1 in conference games. Park Rapids closed out the regular season by going 1-6-1 in the last eight games.
Northern Lakes won the conference title with a 7-1 record while Wadena-Deer Creek went 3-5 and Prairie Centre finished at 2-5-1.
Detroit Lakes 0 1 3....4
Park Rapids 0 0 2....2
FIRST PERIOD: No scoring. Penalties: Detroit Lakes 1, Park Rapids 0.
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SECOND PERIOD: 1, Detroit Lakes, Tulius (Seebold, Ginnaty), 12:59. Penalties: Detroit Lakes 1, Park Rapids 2.
THIRD PERIOD: 1, Park Rapids, Strandlie (I. Johnson, Alto), 4:22. 2, Detroit Lakes, Deconcini (Seebold, Tulius), 5:21. 2, Park Rapids, I. Johnson, 11:00. 3, Detroit Lakes, Giwoyna (Deconcini), 14:34. 4, Detroit Lakes, Unruh, 15:42. Penalties: Detroit Lakes 1, Park Rapids 1.
GOALIE SAVES: Detroit Lakes (Boomgarden) 5-16-9--30. Park Rapids (Jerger) 10-13-3--26.
