Detroit Lakes Boys Hockey Cruises to Victory Against Park Rapids

DETROIT LAKES, MN (KDLM) – Despite giving up the game’s first goal, the Laker boys hockey team scored six unanswered to beat the Park Rapids Panthers on Tuesday night at the Kent Freeman Arena 8-3.

The Panthers got on the scoreboard 30 seconds into the first period when Jeron Pinoniemi connected with Joey Hilluka on a 2-1 rush to give Park Rapids a brief lead in the first period. Detroit Lakes answered immediately when Aiden Kennedy scored on a redirect 39 seconds after Park Rapids scored. The Lakers then scored four more goals in the first period to take a 5-1 lead into the first intermission. Chase Kukowski scored two of the five goals in the first period, and fellow seniors Ben Hines and Jacob Thomas put their names on the scoresheet.

The Lakers scored their sixth goal in the second period when Cole Deraney scored on a backdoor one-timer after receiving a great pass from Aiden Kennedy. One of the prettiest goals of the night was scored by Park Rapids when Joey Hilluka scored his second goal on an odd-man rush after sidestepping a Laker defender on beating Laker goalie Josh Mack top shelf to make the score 6-2 going into the third period.

Out of the 2nd-period intermission, the Lakers added two more goals to put the game into running time as Easton Kennedy and Cooper Moore found the back of the net in the first seven minutes of the 3rd period. Easton Kennedy led the way for Detroit Lakes in the points department as he finished with a four-point night scoring one goal and picking up three assists. The Panthers got a late goal with 30 seconds left when Lars Peterson scored his first goal of the season.

The loss drops Park Rapids’ record to 12-8-1, and they are now 5-5-1 in section play.

The win improves Detroit Lakes’ record to 16-5-1 overall, and they are now 6-2-1 in section play. Next week is the final week of the regular season, and Detroit Lakes is down to their last three games before playoffs begin.

The Lakers will have a lot on the line when they return to action on Thursday night when they travel to Little Falls to take on the Flyers. The game could determine whether or not Detroit Lakes is the three or four seed in the playoffs, which begin on February 23rd. KDLM will be in Little Falls on Thursday night for the broadcast, with our pregame coverage beginning at 6:45 pm.

SCORING

Park Rapids 1 1 1 3

Detroit Lakes 5 1 2 8

SHOTS

Park Rapids 7 3 2 12

Detroit Lakes 18 12 11 41

Scoring Summary

1st Period:

0:30 Park Rapids #16 Joey Hillukka (even strength) (#24 Jeron Pinoniemi)

1:09 Detroit Lakes #41 Aiden Kennedy (even strength) (#27 Tommy Suckert, #4 Jace Fields)

2:06 Detroit Lakes #14 Ben Hines (even strength) (#42 Easton Kennedy)

4:56 Detroit Lakes #21 Chase Kukowski (even strength) (#8 Cole Larson, #5 Carter Bellefeuille)

9:53 Detroit Lakes #21 Chase Kukowski (even strength) (#27 Tommy Suckert, #11 Jacob Thomas)

13:30 Detroit Lakes #11 Jacob Thomas (even strength) (#4 Jace Fields, #42 Easton Kennedy)

2nd Period:

7:12 Detroit Lakes #7 Cole Deraney (even strength) (#41 Aiden Kennedy)

13:14 Park Rapids #16 Joey Hillukka (even strength)

3rd Period:

4:49 Detroit Lakes #42 Easton Kennedy (even strength) (#9 Easton Wahl, #2 Grady Kirschner)

6:16 Detroit Lakes #3 Cooper Moore (even strength) (#11 Jacob Thomas, #42 Easton Kennedy)

16:31 Park Rapids #23 Lars Peterson (even strength) (#20 Braden Stewart)