Devils Lake Girls Hockey picks up first win of season in 4-3 thriller against Williston
DEVILS LAKE – The Devils Lake Firebirds and Williston Coyotes had a unique situation on their hands Tuesday evening.
If anything else, this unique situation was merely coincidental. While doubleheaders were not an uncommon phenomenon, both girls hockey teams took to the ice against each other for the second time in three days after Mother Nature forced their original Jan. 18 contest to be rescheduled to Jan. 25.
Mother Nature’s influence did not matter at this point. Both teams had to simply take it on the chin and figure out what worked best at this juncture. After Williston got the best of Devils Lake on Jan. 22 at Williston High School, 4-2, it was back to the drawing board for the latter. After all, another game had to be played.
Round two went to Devils Lake this time around as the Firebirds found enough of a scoring streak in the offensive zone to beat the Coyotes, 4-3, on Jan. 25.
The Firebirds (1-12) picked up their first 2021-22 regular-season victory with the win. The win is Devils Lake’s first since Feb. 16, 2021 (3-2 @ Jamestown). Devils Lake’s four goals scored are the most since Dec. 11 (Devils Lake scored four goals against Dickinson in what amounted to an 8-4 loss). The performance is the third time in 13 games the Firebirds have scored three goals or more this season (three against Grand Forks Central/Grand Forks Red River on Nov. 30 and four against Dickinson on Dec. 11).
Playing to the matchup proved to be Devils Lake’s road map to success. Williston’s Keira Borreson proved to be an essential matchup Devils Lake had to crack down on after the sophomore forward/defender scored two goals against the Firebirds on Jan. 22.
However, a more tuned-up checking approach in all three zones proved to be just enough of a remedy to not only Borreson but Jaidyn Nass also. Borreson and Nass finished the game with one goal apiece.
“I don’t have a lot of control over who they [Williston] throw out,” Devils Lake head coach Rob McIvor said after the game. “I have two lines right now, and that’s it. At the same time, I try to get my first line out with their first line, and Jaidyn Nass is a very good hockey player. She was flying out there today. I am glad we corralled her for a little bit.”
On the offensive side, the Ashlyn Abrahamson and Vivianna Kraft duo carried the bulk of the offensive load for the Firebirds. Abrahamson started the offensive performance with a goal from the left circle against Williston goaltender Emily Fuchs at the 10:27 mark in the first period.
A 3-0 Firebird lead was countered with a Nass shot at the edge of the crease. However, the Firebirds responded during the early portion of the third period when Kraft’s wrist shot at the crease trickled in through Fuchs’ five-hole.
Being more proactive in the offensive zone, coupled with a lineup tweak, helped keep the Firebirds ahead of the Coyotes, even after Borreson and McKenna Rehak each found a late-period goal in the third period.
“We made a couple of changes to our lineup and put Vivianna Kraft at forward on the second line, and that has paid dividends,” McIvor said. “She had some points tonight. Also, our defensive core is solid now, and everybody is learning how to play hockey, of course, but our first line is learning at a rapid pace, and they are getting along a lot better, so I am happy with that.”
Maintaining momentum will be critical for the Firebirds as they attempt to build off the 4-3 win. Devils Lake will look to build off the win as they continue their five-game homestand, spanning from Jan. 25 to Feb. 3.
“I am just happy with the win and [how] the game ended,” McIvor said. “I thought we should have scored a few more goals, but at the same time, we defended well, and we came out with a victory.”
Contact John Crane via email (jcrane@gannett.com) or Twitter @johncranesports)
This article originally appeared on Devils Lake Journal: Devils Lake beats Williston, 4-3, to pick up first win of 2021-22 year
