Detroit Lakes Forces a Tie Thanks to Late Game Goal

DETROIT LAKES (KDLM) – Detroit Lakes hosted the Little Falls Flyers in boys hockey on Thursday night at the Kent Freeman Arena, and after 59 minutes of hockey, the game ended in a 2-2 tie. According to the website Let’s Play Hockey, the Lakers and the Flyers are both ranked in the top ten of Class A. The game lived up to the hype, with both teams playing at a high level. For Little Falls, it was the last game of the regular season, and for DL, it was the second to last game.

The first period ended scoreless with the shots even at four apiece. Detroit Lakes was able to kill off a two-minute minor penalty taken by Rian Solberg for cross-checking. This season, Detroit Lakes has been excellent with a player short, with DL entering the game with a penalty kill percentage of 90.6%.

The Flyers got on the scoreboard first, with Matt Filippi scoring at the 2:56 mark of the second period. Filippi is seventh in the state in goals as he has scored 35 goals and has the fifth-most points in Class A with 72. The Flyer outshot the Lakers in the second period 10-5, and the period ended with the Flyers leading 1-0.

In the third period, the Flyers Luke Avery took a tripping penalty at the 7:35 mark, and 27 seconds later, Detroit Lakes tied the game with a beautiful passing play from Jordan Fields to Cooper Moore. As Moore and Fields entered the zone, Moore one-timed the puck, beating Flyer goaltender DJ Kicker to tie the game at 1-1. The goal was Moore’s ninth of the season, and Fields picked up his 27^th assist on the season.

After committing the penalty that gave the Lakers a goal, Avery responded offensively to give the Flyers the lead back in the late stages of the 3^rd. Avery beat Laker goalie Elijah Blow on an odd-man rush to give the Flyers the lead back at the 15:19 mark, with assists going to Isaiah Jendro and Coltin Johnson.

Just when it felt like all hope was lost, Detroit Lakes answered back in the last minute of the period, with Spencer Bergman scoring an unassisted goal with 38 seconds left to force overtime.

In overtime, DL’s Jordan Fields was called for a charging penalty, and the Flyers George Moore was called for unsportsmanlike conduct. After Fields served his penalty, he left the box for an abbreviated powerplay. Fields had an excellent opportunity to get the game-winner as he set up a one-timer on the backdoor. When Fields received the pass and unleashed a shot, Flyers goalie Kicker moved from post to post and made an out-of-position highlight-worthy save to keep the game tied with around 4 minutes left to go in OT. The Flyers also had their chances in overtime, with Blow making huge saves when needed. Overtime ended with the shots tied at five and the scored tied at two.

 

No Scoring

SHOTS

Detroit Lakes  21

POWER PLAYS

Detroit Lakes 1 for 4 (25.0%)

#9 Bagley/Fosston vs #8 Park Rapids, Tuesday February 22 @ 7:00

Section 8A Championship Game @ East Grand Forks, Thursday, March 3 @ 7:00