DEVILS LAKE — Devils Lake girls’ hockey took another tough loss Tuesday in what’s been a transitory year for the Firebirds.

They avoided a shutout in the third period, getting junior Julia McIvor’s fourth goal of the season. Junior Jadeyn Kempel was credited with her first assist of the year. Devils Lake (0-10-1) was within one goal after the first period and three goals after the second period, but Jamestown (2-10)’s 38-16 advantage in shots on goal was ultimately too much to handle.

Devils Lake fell 6-1.

“I didn’t think the effort was bad; it was just, we were all over the place in terms of our defensive strategy,” Firebirds head coach Rob McIvor said. “They kept throwing the puck wide, and we were puck-watching a lot — focused on the puck and not able to get to loose pucks. We didn’t win a puck battle against the boards.”

Jamestown managed a shot on goal on its first possession, but Devils Lake cleared it out of the zone quickly. The Blue Jays scored at 12:19, less than five minutes into the game, on just their third shot on goal. Devils Lake had two of its own at the time. But despite a seemingly even start, Jamestown got on the board first on an unassisted goal by Ellie Krueger.

The Blue Jays started to attack a little more after their first goal. They kept it near the net and ran the shots-on-goal margin all the way up to 12-2.

The lone penalty of the first period was a tripping call on Devils Lake’s Addison Klemetsrud at 8:56. Jamestown was unable to take advantage of the power play.

J. McIvor, the Firebirds’ leading scorer this year, had a shot go off the goalie standing towards the left side of the net. McIvor had a slight opening for a moment but wasn’t able to recover quickly enough to get another shot off.

By the end of the first period, Devils Lake was still within one goal, but it trailed 17-4 in shots.

Jamestown came out aggressive in the second period. Devils Lake goalie Delaney Parker caught a line drive on the Blue Jays’ fifth shot of the period — more than the Firebirds had in the entire first period.

At 9:11 in the second period, Jamestown was charged with high sticking for its first penalty of the game. But despite the Devils Lake power play, Jamestown scored just 12 seconds later. Grace Allmaras made an unassisted goal while sprinting in to make it 2-0.

Devils Lake’s Charly Black nearly snuck one in just past the eight-minute mark, but Jamestown’s goalie trapped it with her knees. Brynlee Homan got a shot off on the same possession but missed it wide to the left.

Parker continued to play a tough game in goal. But the Blue Jays found the net again at 5:24. They had just missed one well wide to the right, but Allmaras scored her second goal of the game on an assist from the corner by Krueger.

Still hanging on by a thread in the third period, down 3-0, the Firebirds let the game get away from them. After a checking penalty on Ellie Suda, Jamestown’s Layni Bakalar got one in with 37 seconds left in the power play and 13:07 left in the game.

“I can’t fault them; I’m getting effort. But is the effort directed towards a function?” McIvor said. “Are we going fast, and why do they keep getting the puck by us? In the system, those things should be figured out by now. So we have to go back, look at what we’re doing correctly and look at what we’re doing wrong.”

Devils Lake put backup goalie Mara Hogness in for the rest of the contest. She allowed two goals in the final 13 minutes, both coming in the eighth-to-last minute.

Parker had 27 saves in 31 shots on goal, giving her a percentage of 87.1 for the game and 89.9 for the season.

“Can’t ask for much more for a team that has a losing record, and her save percentage is like 89, 90,” McIvor said.

J. McIvor avoided the shutout, though, with a goal for Devils Lake shortly after Hogness was put in the net. It was the fourth goal of the season for the junior, tying her total from last year.

“She’s getting better at figuring out how to score,” McIvor said. “She’s developing. Last year, she got to watch Siri [Olson] and Ash[lyn Abrahamson]… She’s figuring it out. It’s gonna take time. She’s always played a defensive style, and now I’m asking her to go score goals. So it’s something she has to learn how to do.”

Devils Lake survived a power play after a tripping penalty on Suda at 4:38. McIvor had a few more strong shots towards the end that were saved.

The Firebirds were ultimately outshot by 22 in the loss.

“We’re getting there. It’s just gonna take time and practice,” McIvor said. “And figuring out where to be on the ice and why.”