After a hard-fought loss in a shootout Friday, the Devils Lake girls’ hockey team bounced back in dominant fashion Saturday. The Firebirds (7-9) beat the Dickinson Midgets (5-11, 2-11) by a score of 9-2, getting goals from four different players in a luxurious rout at Burdick Arena.
“A lot of different people got points today; that’s what I want to see,” head coach Rob McIvor said. “The second line scored today, which is great for us. And our goalie [Delaney Parker] played really well again.”
The team’s top scorer this year is senior forward Ashlyn Abrahamson — in fact, she has the most goals of any girls’ hockey player in all of North Dakota. And she made an impact right away, scoring two goals within the first eight minutes of the game. Her first goal came despite a power play for Dickinson. She finished with four on the afternoon, bringing her season total to 35.
“Ashlyn has done a really good job of managing her energy output this year,” McIvor said. “I told her at the start of the year that she’d have to play a bit differently than usual if she wanted to go to state, and she has. She definitely took that advice to heart and played a bit smarter. When she’s tired, just dump it in and forecheck down in the offensive zone, rather than having to hustle back and try and do all the work in our defense.”
Siri Olson, the state’s top defensive scorer and third overall scorer, nabbed a goal of her own at the 6:50 mark in the first period. She found an opening in the top of the net and placed it perfectly in the corner after getting an assist from Abrahamson.
Olson scored again early in the second period, making it a 4-0 game at the 15:08 mark. But just 13 seconds later, KeAna Hendrickson put one in the net for Dickinson and ended the shutout.
Julia McIvor scored with 12:31 to go, on an assist from Brynlee Homan. The Firebirds allowed their second goal just over two minutes later, but Abrahamson capped off the second period with her third goal of the game, keeping Devils Lake comfortably in front, 6-2. Her shot initially bounced off the post, but she kept control of the deflection and tapped it in.
“It was very relaxed,” McIvor said. “We weren’t in danger of losing the game at some point, so everybody just calmed down, took a breath, relaxed. And they played really hard for the rest of the game.”
Dickinson had a near-goal on a power play in the third period, but the Midgets were unable to poke it in during a close face-off with Parker, Devils Lake’s goalie. Parker, who’s still just in eighth grade, has been an important part of the Firebirds winning five of their last six games.
“Parky started from seventh grade, now eighth grade. And she’s played really well the last five, six, seven games. That’s why we’ve been on a bit of a run,” McIvor said. “But at the same time, we’ve gotten a lot better defensively in front of her, and that has allowed us to win those games.”
Eighth grader Charly Black got in the goal column at the 7:39 mark in the third period — her first of the season. Cheers of “Chuck!” and “Chucky!” erupted from the stands.
With less than five minutes left in the game, Devils Lake junior defender Delaney Wagner was charged with two penalties: two minutes for head contact, and another three minutes for swinging her stick.
“It’s unfortunate because that means she can’t play in the next game, which is Fargo North/South on Tuesday,” McIvor said.
Yet, even with the disadvantage during the game’s final five minutes, Devils Lake tacked on two more goals. Black scored her second goal, and Abrahmson added one more for good measure. The nine goals was the most for Devils Lake in a game this season.
“They’re starting to play with a bit of giddy-up in their step, and they’re starting to move the puck and getting scoring positions,” McIvor said. “Going forward, we have a really good chance of going to state this year.”
The Firebirds have seven games left in the regular season, which continues Tuesday in Fargo against Fargo North/South (13-3, 12-3).
Joseph “Mojo” Hill is a reporter covering Lake Region sports for the Devils Lake Journal. Contact him on Twitter @mojohill22 or at jhill@devilslakejournal.com for any tips, questions or story ideas.
