Lyon stops DeBenedet on penalty shot with 7.1 seconds left
A frenetic third period Thursday at Bronco Arena on Parent’s Night ended with the most exciting play in hockey — a penalty shot.
With 7.1 seconds to play and a 6-on-4 advantage favoring the home team (goalie was pulled), International Falls thought it tied the game 3-3 on a goal from Lucas DeBenedet. However, the goal was waved off because one side of the net was off its mooring. That said, the net was off its mooring because Lake of the Woods goalie Alex Lyon knocked it off, and the officials awarded the Broncos a penalty shot.
DeBenedet took the penalty shot, but Lyon made a kick save with his left pad to preserve the lead. The ensuing faceoff slid into the corner behind the Bears net and the Broncos never got another shot on goal, giving Lake of the Woods a 3-2 win.
Eric Lassila and Christian Kittelson scored for the Broncos (10-11-1), while Glenn Walls pushed aside 21 shots. The Broncos outshot the Bears 39-24, including 13-4 in the third period.
Lake of the Woods (15-5-2), unbeaten in its last 10 games and 12-1-1 over its last 14, got 37 saves from Lyon, who was recently named one of two finalists for the The Frank Brimsek Award in recognition of the state’s top senior goaltender (see story Page 4B). Bryson Jasper, Evan Torgeson and Brock Debilzan each had a goal for the visitors.
Lake of the Woods 3,
I. Falls 2
LOW 1 2 0—3
IF 1 1 0—2
First period — IF, Eric Lassila (Brett Musich), 3:04; LOW, Bryson Jasper (Wade Holen), 8:13.
Second period — IF, Christian Kittelson (Joel Skirten, Alex Bruess), PP, 3:28; LOW, Evan Torgeson (Ian Sugden, Isaac Bitter), 4:51; LOW, Brock Debilzan, PP, 12:30.
Third period — No scoring.
Goalies — LOW, Alex Lyon, 37 saves; IF, Glenn Walls, 21 saves.
Game notes
• The Broncos have two away games left in the regular season — Tuesday at Roseau; Friday at Fort Frances — before the Section 7A tournament begins Feb. 22. The state tournament is March 9-12 at the Xcel Energy Center.
• Out of the 13 Bronco seniors that celebrated last year’s Parent’s Night, four are playing for Rainy River Community College’s extramural team — Andrew England, Jon McDonald, Michael Jaksa and Chris Little, while Jordan Christianson, Willie Corrin and Matt Youso are playing junior hockey.
Christianson has 10 goals, 10 assists and only 14 penalty minutes in 53 games with the OCN Blizzard of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League. The Blizzard are 31-16-7 and in the last month of the regular season. Four of Christianson’s goals are game-winners.
Corrin has seven assists in 33 games for the Fargo Force of the USHL. Fargo is 22-15-4 and in third place in the Western Conference.
Youso has two points (G, A) and 70 penalty minutes in 29 games with the Owatonna Express of the NAHL. His older brother Jake Youso (FHS ’08) recently joined the Express and has played in the last two games.
