Fresh off securing a spot in the state tournament, Devils Lake girls’ hockey suffered its first shutout loss of the season at Burdick Arena on Friday. The Firebirds (9-13, 9-12) lost 1-0 to Bismarck Legacy/Bismarck High (10-12, 9-11) — the team right behind them in the standings.
“We just didn’t get it done,” head coach Rob McIvor said. “I mean, we only gave up one goal, which is fine, but penalties, power play were kind of ineffective. We didn’t move the puck up real well. They were faster than us.”
Both teams had chances early on and were struggling to put it in the net. Bismarck was charged with a hand pass with a bouncing puck about three minutes in, while Devils Lake had an icing called.
Star defender Siri Olson had a block at 12:50. She got it down to Ashlyn Abrahamson, who took a shot right into the goalie’s knees. Olson later intercepted a Bismarck pass, but she couldn’t keep control as she sprinted down the ice.
Bismarck broke through at the 11:36 mark with a goal that was credited to Ava Krikorian. Messina Ternes took the shot, but it deflected off Krikorian and put Devils Lake behind 1-0.
The Firebirds had their chances, but they couldn’t find an opening. Abrahamson and Olson, the state’s top two scorers, struggled to get it past the Bismarck defense. Olivia Erickstad also had a strong chance for a goal with the puck all to herself, but the shot was deflected off the goalie.
Bismarck had some more chances of its own, putting a lot of pressure on the net and attacking the zone repeatedly. But the Firebirds’ defense, despite allowing the earlier goal, held strong and kept them in the game.
Shortly before the six-minute mark, Aspen Eslinger was charged with a penalty for Bismarck. Abrahamson had another shot on goal, but Devils Lake couldn’t capitalize on the power play. That was a theme for Devils Lake: it had six power plays in the first two periods but couldn’t score during any of them.
“We have to shoot the puck more,” McIvor said, “and take advantage of those rebound opportunities, which we didn’t do at all today.”
Firebirds goalie Delaney Parker had a couple impressive saves as the first period came to a close. She and Bismarck’s Rylee Otto had an equal nine saves in the period.
Devils Lake had another power play at 14:17 in the second period. It still didn’t score. Bismarck was then charged with penalties at the 10:26 and 9:48 marks, giving the Firebirds a five-on-three advantage. The Firebirds controlled the puck, and Abrahamson had a pair of strong shots that Otto stayed in front of. With one of Bismarck’s two players back on the ice, Abrahamson passed to Olson, who took a shot but couldn’t get it through.
The Firebirds had their fifth power play with 3:29 to go in the second period, then had another five-on-three advantage at 1:56. But no matter how they attacked, they couldn’t get a goal in. Parker held the fort at the net and helped the defense keep them in the game.
“We played a fairly decent defensive game for sure,” McIvor said. “We just need to score some goals, and we didn’t get that done today.”
Bismarck controlled the puck a lot more in the third period, after the teams had been fairly even up until that point. Devils Lake committed two penalties of its own, giving Bismarck a five-on-three advantage for a brief 50 seconds.
The minutes on the click quickly dissipated. Abrahamson, who’s not used to being held without a goal, put her full effort into trying to get Devils Lake on the board. She swooped in and stole a pass as the lone Firebird in the zone, then took a pair of shots as the clock got down to two minutes. Neither went in.
Devils Lake had its seventh power play of the game with just 1:10 to go. During the final minute and a half or so, the Firebirds played with an open net to boost their chances of a last-minute miracle. Abrahamson saved the puck from nearly going into the open net with less than a minute to play, but the Firebirds couldn’t make anything happen on their final possession.
“I don’t even know if it was their defense so much as their forwards were quick and didn’t allow us to move the puck up like we usually do,” McIvor said. “They had three deep a lot, and we didn’t adjust for that.”
Bismarck took 18 shots on goal in the third period compared to just six from Devils Lake. The Firebirds had only been trailing 18-15 in that department through the first two periods.
With this loss, Devils Lake can no longer move up to the No. 5 seed in the state tournament. It’s currently the No. 6 seed, with Bismarck only one point behind in the standings at No. 7. The Firebirds have one game left to play on Saturday at 1 p.m.
“I’m excited for it,” McIvor said of the upcoming tournament. “But I still kind of wanted to sneak into fifth place.”
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.
