Majettes hockey tops Jamestown 8-1 in their first game at Pepsi Rink
The nerves were high, as were the number of goals they scored.
The Minot High School girls hockey team were admittedly a little bit anxious to play at the new Pepsi Rink for the first time Friday evening. But that didn’t stop them from putting on an offensive showcase in an 8-1 victory over Jamestown, including a four goal performance from senior Bryanna Bergeron.
“It was very different,” Bergeron said about the new rink. “It’s brighter, hotter definitely. We were all nervous, but it was nice though. A very nice facility and we appreciate it.”
The Majettes (3-0-0, 3-0-0 Western Dakota Association) had six of their goals scored by seniors with Bergeron’s outpouring and Mackinzy Maciver scoring twice.
“I never know what to expect until you actually play a team for the first time,” MHS head coach Weylin Wahlstrom said. “One thing that I was expecting though was for my seniors to come out and play a really good game and play hard. … For them, this is their first and last year in this rink and new facility. They were pretty fired up to be here.”
Both teams were unable to break the scoreless deadlock after the first 16 minutes of the first period, despite the Majettes having two clear-cut breakaway opportunities and Jamestown (2-2-0, 0-2-0 WDA) getting a 3-on-1 rush and shooting the puck right into the gut of Minot goaltender Alex Nelson.
“Defensively, I thought we broke down quite a bit,” Wahlstrom said. “They were doing a good job of pinching and pressuring us, which they had to do, and there were times we got a little bit sloppy and trying to do a little too much.”
Less than two minutes left in the first period, Majettes freshman defenseman Brenna Abrahamson committed a holding penalty to stop another Blue Jays breakaway. As a result, the only penalty of the game opened up more space on the ice.
Bergeron capitalized with a pair of short-handed goals with 29.6 seconds and just 1.0 second left on the clock to give the Majettes a 2-0 lead after the first period. Maciver assisted on both goals.
“Goals don’t really determine how good of a game you have,” Bergeron said. “My team was helping me out definitely.”
Bergeron wasn’t finished. With 9:42 remaining in the second period, she picked up her hat trick goal by following up a shot that went off the end boards and back in front of the net. Before the Jamestown goaltender could slide over to the other post, Bergeron knocked the puck in.
The Majettes then unleashed a scoring outburst of four goals in the final four minutes of the period. Maciver went top-shelf over the glove to start things off and then she scored again 31 seconds later to put the Majettes up 5-0.
Junior forward Lindsey Larson wanted in on the action and scored 47 seconds after Maciver’s second tally for her first goal of the season. Bergeron capped off the second period with her fourth goal of the game just 49 seconds after Larson’s goal, assisted by Parker Larson.
“(Bergeron) played great tonight,” Wahlstrom said. “She was in the right spots. Her and Mackinzy (Maciver) were working so well together, and with Parker (Larson) on that line. Parker doesn’t get a lot of credit for what she does, but she goes in and is always going hard. She is the first one in the corners, doing a lot of the grunt work and Bri (Bergeron) and Mac (Maciver) are taking advantage.”
After two periods, the Majettes had the same number of goals (7) as Jamestown had shots on goal (7).
Minot sophomore forward Lily Bonebrake increased Minot’s lead to 8-0 a couple of minutes into the third period with a rebound goal for her first goal of the season.
Under 9 minutes remaining, Jamestown senior Haley Schnaidt broke up Nelson’s shutout.
“The goal, honestly I couldn’t see it,” Nelson said. “Then, when it went in, it was just upsetting.”
Nelson made nine saves. The Majettes outshot the Blue Jays 38-17.
“Yeah, absolutely,” Wahlstrom said about getting that one goal back at the end. “We don’t say that word until after the game, so I guess we can say ‘shutout’ now.”
The Majettes return to the ice at 2 p.m. today against Fargo Davies at Maysa Arena.
Alex Eisen covers Minot High School, Minot State athletics and high school sports. Follow him on Twitter @AEisen13.