Crookston Rolls An 8-Ball On Wadena .. Terpstra, Mercil, Prudhomme Each Tally 2 .. EGF Nips GF Red River (Useldinger Hat Trick) .. Bagley Falls To Greenway In Section 8A Action 1/28/10

Crookston 8, Wadena-Deer Creek 0

C: Morgan Terpstra (14, 15) 2g, 1a, Zach Mercil (3, 4), Alex Prudhomme (1, 2)
C: Nick Regeimbal (5), Connor Morgan (1)
C: Nick Biermaier 9 Saves | Shutout Win
WDC: Dylan Isola 26 MIN, 22 Saves on 28 Shots | Loss
WDC: Tyler Muehler 25 MIN, 20 Saves on 22 Shots


Greenway 7, Bagley/Fosston 3

G: Adam Mendoza (26, 27, 28, 29, 30) 5 goals
G: Mendoza had a Pure Hat Trick in the 1st | Natural 4 w/ 3 in the 1st, 1 in the 2nd
G: Nick Adams (14) 1g, 4a, Jordan Finkbone (1) 1g, 2a
G: Erikur Arnason 21 Saves | Win
BF: Dillon Spray (15) 1g, 1a, Cade Young (4), Tal Iverson (11)
BF: Gavin Ross 20 Saves | Loss

East Grand Forks 3, Grand Forks Red River (ND) 2

EGF: Jake Useldinger Hat Trick (Natural)

All (10) Section 8A Teams In Action Last Night .. Hat Tricks By Brock Nelson, Sam Coborn, Kyle Kanten, Micah Ranum .. TRF Knocks Off Previously Unbeaten EGF In Section 8A Rivalries

Warroad 5, Crookston 1
W: Brock Nelson (28, 29, 30) Hat Trick, Nick Stoskopf (9) sh, Brett Hebel (14)
W: Dillon Thompson 23 Saves | Win
C: Ryan Bittner (2)
C: Nick Biermaier 30 Saves | Loss

First period — 1. W, Brock Nelson (Carson Gray) 5:00; 2. W, Nick Stoskopf 12:24; 3. W, Nelson (Gray) 14:58

Second period — 4. W, Nelson (David Nelson) 1:52
Third period — 5. C, Seth Heppner (Ryan Bittner, Nick Regimbal) 2:13; 6. W, Stoskopf (Brett Hebel, Brock Nelson) 4:24
Goalie saves — W: Shawn Storey 7-7-x — 14, Dillon Thompson x-x-6 — 6; C: Nick Biermaier 8-10-8 — 26

Park Rapids Area 13, Walker-Hackensack-Akeley 0
PR: Sam Coborn (23, 24, 25) Hat Trick |1ps|, 3a
PR: Kyle Kanten (10, 11, 12) Hat Trick, 3a
PR: Tucker Coborn (25, 26) 2g |1sh|, 1a, Ian Johnson (11) 1a, 1a
PR: Kevin McMorrow (11) 1g, 1a, Jeff Sharp (1) 1g, 1a
PR: Corey Odland (1), Frank Moren (2)
PR: Ryan O'Mara 8 Saves | Shutout Win
WHA: Micah Bank 43 Saves | Loss

Moorhead 6, Roseau 2
M: Quinn Buckellew (10, 11), Brandon MacLeod (7, 8)
M: Ben Doda (2), Braden Rahman (6) sh
M: Logan Marks 26 Saves | Win
R: Travis Connell (8), Adam Knochenmus (15)
R: Ethan Kvidt 31 Saves | Loss

First period — 1. M, Doda (Brenk) 14:57; 2. M, Buckellew (Henry) 12:04; 3. R, Connell (Hedlund) 5:24; 4. M, Rahman (unassisted) 2:24; 5. R, Knochenmus (Omdahl) 1:18
Second period — 6. M, MacLeod (Oxton) 6:07
Third period — 7, M, Buckellew (Melquist, Henry) 10:40; 8. M, MacLeod (Kraemer, Rahman) 10:20
Goalie saves — M: Marks 6-4-16 — 16; R: Kvidt 6-19-6 — 31

Thief River Falls 6, East Grand Forks 4

TRF: Micah Ranum (15, 16, 17) Hat Trick, 1a
TRF: Ryan Crosson (4, 5), Mathew Audette (6) 1g, 2a
TRF: Zane Gothberg 15 Saves | Win
EGF: Jake Useldinger (17, 18) 2g, 2a, Tucker Poolman (4), Zach Lawdermilt (15)
EGF: Hunter Aubol 24 Saves | Loss

First period — 1. EGF, Jake Useldinger (Casey Ristau) :12; 2. TRF, Micah Ranum (Drew Erickson) 3:33; 3. TRF, Ranum (Matt Lindquist) 15:43

Second period — 4. EGF, Tucker Poolman (Useldinger, Adam Knopp) :58; 5. EGF, Useldinger 15:17; 6. TRF, Ryan Crosson (Lindquist, Ranum) 16:51
Third period — 7. EGF, Zack Lawdermilt (Hunter Mero, Useldinger) 3:50; 8. TRF, Crosson (Evan ose, Ranum) 4:32; 9. TRF, Ranum 7:50; 10. TRF, Matt Audette (Riley Soderstrom, Lindquist) 9:14
Goalie saves — EGF: Hunter Aubol 7-17-6 — 30; TRF: Zane Gothberg 11-6-2 — 19

Kittson-Central 3, Lake of the Woods 0

Second period — 1. Kittson County Central, Gabe Montoya (Markas Dahl, Jeff Bergh) 2:58
Third period — 2. KCC, Bergh (Montoya, Craig Lindegard) 2:30; 3. KCC, Dahl (Lindegard, Montoya) 16:24
Goalie saves — KCC: Alex Chaput 31; LOW: Luke Clifford 24

Red Lake Falls 4, Bagley/Fosston 1

First period — 1. RLF, Robbie Glass (Andrew Jahnke) 1:59; 2. B, Nelson Papke (Dillon Spray) 3:52; 3. RLF, Glass (Jahnke) 9:24; 4. RLF, Garrett Schmitz (Joe Berberena) 11:16; 5. RLF, Berberena (Cody Hanson) 14:51
Goalie saves — RLF: Zach Page 16; B-F: Gavin Ross 37

Every Game Becomes Important .. The Quest For Section 8A .. Games On Tap For Tuesday, January 26, 2010 .. The Weather Is Freezing .. The Section Is Heating Up

East Grand Forks at Thief River Falls, 7:30PM | Ralph Engelstad Arena

Lake of the Woods at Kittson-Central, 7:00 PM | Hallock Ice Arena

Red Lake Falls at Bagley/Fosston, 7:00 PM | Albert Kaiser Arena

Walker-H-A at Park Rapids, 7:30PM | Park Rapids Comm Center

Warroad at Crookston, 7:30PM | Crookston Civic Arena

Crookston (8A) at East Grand Forks (8A), 7:30PM | East Grand Forks Civic Center

A very pivotal game in Section 8A section seedings .. coupled with TRF's 2-1 victory over the Warroad Warriors last night .. the hunt for the #1 seed is now in the hands of the East Grand Forks Green Wave .. Warroad has dropped two games (vs. EGF / TRF) .. and TRF with one loss .. and Warroad with two losses.

Don't discredit the Green Wave .. they stopped Warroad's dominance of Section 8A as the Wave downed Warroad, 2-1, behind Hunter Aubol's incredible goaltending performance.

On the flip side, the Crookston Pirates always seem to hang around down the stretch in Section 8A .. Coach Jon Bittner will have the boys clicking on all cylinders.

Bennies Pick: EGF (5-3)

Red Lake Falls (8A) at Lake of the Woods (8A), 7PM | Baudette Arena

Kittson County Central (8A) at Wahpeton/Breckenridge (ND), 6:30PM | Sterns Sports Arena

Thief River Falls Knocks Off #4 Ranked Warroad .. Micah Ranum Nets GWG Midway Thru 3rd .. Takes Over Section 8A Standing .. CROX Upends Fargo South

CROOKSTON 4, FARGO SOUTH 1

First period — 1. C, Ryan Edevold (Seth Heppner, Nick Regeimbal) 5:23; 2. C, Morgan Terpstra (Zach Mercil, Alex Edevold) 11:17; 3. FS, Jake Pawlik (Peter Orson) 11:55

Second period — 4. C, Regeimbal (Heppner, Austin Proulx) 6:45; 5. C, Heppner (Ryan Edevold, Regeimbal) 9:03

Goalie saves — C: Nick Biermaier 11-10-5 — 26; FS: Scott Buchholz 8-7-10 — 25

THIEF RIVER FALLS 2, WARROAD 1

First period — 1. W, Brock Nelson (Brett Hobel) 6:00; 2. TRF, Micah Ranum (Ryan Crosson, Evan Ose) 16:57

Second period — 3. TRF, Ranum (Riley Soderstrom) 7:23

Goalie saves — TRF: Zane Gothberg 5-11-4 — 20; W: Shawn Storey 6-5-11 — 22

Walker-Hackensack-Akeley @ Bagley/Fosston - NO REPORT

Forgotten Star of the Northwest .. Kittson-Central's Craig Lindegard .. Courtesy Of MN Hockey Hub Web Site

Q and A with Kittson Central's Craig Lindegard

By: Tim Kolehmainen

Tucked up in the far Northwestern corner of Minnesota is the tiny town of Hallock, home to some of the best farming soil in the nation, a view that seemingly goes on forever and one of the top boys’ high school hockey goal-scorers in the state.

Through the first 13 games of his senior season, Kittson Central sniper Craig Lindegard has already ripped in 25 goals to rank second in the state, tied with Detroit Lakes’ Tanner Lane and eight behind St. Francis’ Joey Benik.

It isn’t just a one-year explosion either. Lindegard led the Bearcats in scoring as a junior and a sophomore. Yet most hockey fans have never heard of him.

It’s definitely a case of out-of-sight, out-of-mind regarding Lindegard. If pushing the speed limit, it still takes a lonely six-hour drive to get to Hallock from the Twin Cities. Residents of Hallock don’t consider a drive to the big cities to be a trip in that direction. Nope. The nearest big city is Winnipeg, Manitoba, just two hours by car.

That disconnect between the heart of Minnesota high school hockey and the far Northwest (outside of the Roseau-Warroad corridor) has kept Lindegard out of the spotlight. Even so, his accomplishments are becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.

This past week, the Breakdown spoke to Lindegard about his scoring exploits, the hockey atmosphere in Kittson Central and whether he has any prospects to play collegiately.

Breakdown: Kittson Central isn't known as a hockey power (football more so) and most certainly doesn't get a lot of statewide recognition, so can you tell me what the atmosphere is like at a Bearcats' game? How do the communities support hockey?

Lindegard: We have some diehard fans -- it’s how we’ve kept hockey alive in our town and school. We don’t always have a huge group of students because most of our games are the same nights as basketball games, but the ones that like hockey are always there to cheer us on, and in some of our close games it gets really wild! We even get a few former players’ parents at our away games. So even though we don’t get a lot of recognition or media, our community supports us. That’s the way it is in a small town.

Breakdown: You've almost equaled last year's victory total already ... what has been the key to a successful start to this winter?

Lindegard: Yeah, we’ve had a great season so far. The key has been the hard work put in by all teammates and the chemistry we have on the team. We have many underclassmen, in fact we have an eighth grader who starts, so it’s important for us older ones to make them feel comfortable as they come from Pee Wees to JV and varsity.

Breakdown: What is the key to continuing that forward and making some noise in the Section 8A playoffs?

Lindegard: Right now we seem to be in a little bit of a slump, but we can pick it up and get back on track. As far as making it very far in the Section 8A playoffs, we don’t really look that far ahead. Normally we play the play-in game and then go up against Warroad or Thief River Falls, but anything can happen.

Breakdown: Is it tough to have a powerhouse like Warroad, who seemingly always has a stranglehold on the section? How do you get up for a game against a team like the Warriors?

Lindegard: We don’t have a problem getting up for the big games like Thief River Falls, East Grand Forks, Crookston and such because it is just a rush to have a close game with the better teams. If we don’t get up for those games we’d get killed.

Breakdown: What has it been like playing for a new coach, Scott Klein? What does he bring to the program?

Lindegard: He works us hard and gets the most out of everyone. We all have a lot of respect for him and he has made it fun this year. He’s also good at talking to us and telling us what we do wrong and what we need to do to get better.

Breakdown: Give me a short scouting report on yourself as a player. What are your strengths and what allows you to be such a goal-scorer?

Lindegard: My strength is my ability to put the puck in the net and set up my teammates. I have a good sense for the game. I attribute that to the off-season shooting I’ve done since I was two years old in my basement and garage year round. My older brother was a goalie so I played against him a lot. I also feel I got some talent from my grandpa, Jerry Lindegard, who played for the Minnesota Gophers from 1946 to 1949. My dad was also a good player. He was the “top of the league player” for the Hallock Bruins, a team in a semi-amateur Canadian league.

Breakdown: What kind of training do you do for hockey, both in- and off-season?

Lindegard: I trained hard last summer in a local weight and conditioning program with our football team. During the season I’m just working on maintaining that level and getting in better cardiovascular shape so I can contribute more.

Breakdown: Can you tell us one unusual thing about yourself that others may not know?

Lindegard: I really don’t have any ritual or superstitious things. I shoot left-handed because I had an infection (salmonella) in my elbow when I was six years old. It ate away the bone and cartilage so after seven surgeries and a bone graft I can no longer use my right hand for most sports. So I’m left-handed for throwing, shooting, batting and golfing.

Breakdown: Have you been getting attention for playing hockey at the next level? Have you made any decisions on where you'll be playing next winter?

Lindegard: No, I haven’t gotten much attention at the next level. I had a little contact with a junior team last summer after a tryout and just recently again, too. I think the big disadvantage of coming from a small town is that you don’t get any publicity or recognition. Most scouts look at the larger teams like Roseau, Warroad, Thief River Falls and such where there are several good players. We aren’t a powerhouse program, but I feel I’ve had a good high school career. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my hockey days in Hallock and I’m hoping for some more wins -- and then for the opportunity to get on a team at the next level and hopefully land on a college team in the future.

Breakdown: What's the best part of playing high school hockey and why?

Lindegard: I just like playing hockey, it’s my favorite sport and it’s really fun.

Mariucci Conference Standings As Of January 20, 2010 .. Roseau Tops The List While Warroad Is (1) Game Behind .. Click On Team To Go To Updates

• Team	PTS	GP	W	L	T	Overall
  Roseau (No. 7 AA)	10	6	5	1	0	13-2-1
  Warroad (No. 4 A)	8	5	4	1	0	13-2-0
  Thief River Falls (No. 7 A)	4	5	2	3	0	11-4-0
  Bemidji	4	5	2	3	0	11-6-0
  Moorhead	4	3	2	1	0	5-6-2
  East Grand Forks	2	4	1	3	0	6-10-0
  Crookston	0	4	0	4	0	3-11-1