Penalties hurt FHS in opener; Hibbing-Chisholm stays undefeated at 3-0
International Falls held its own in a 4-2 loss to Hibbing-Chisholm in Tuesday’s season opener at Bronco Arena.
“You could tell we were a little nervous,” said Broncos senior Matt Youso, who finished with two assists. “We weren’t real smart with the puck at times, but as the game went on the nerves went away. ... Looking forward to the next game. That’s for sure.”
Ryan Johnson tallied two goals for Hibbing-Chisholm, while Jake Stampohar and Nick DeCenzo finished with one goal each. DeCenzo added an assist and Spencer Peratalo posted two assists. Nathan Tromp, the winning goalie in Hibbing’s victory over the Falls in last year’s Section 7A semifinals, beat the Broncos again with 18 saves.
Jordan Christianson and Michael Bounds scored for the Broncos.
“We did a lot of good things,” Bluejackets coach Mark DeCenzo said.
The Bluejackets (3-0) came into the contest with two games under their belt, and it was noticeable in the first period. Stampohar put the visitors up 1-0 early at the 3:16 mark, and Hibbing outshot the Broncos in the period 10-4. One of the Falls’ shots came from clearing the puck on a penalty kill and two more came on one power play.
“We held our own,” said Broncos head coach John Prettyman. “ ... I thought we got better every period.”
The Broncos came out blazing in the second, evening the shot totals right away with six shots in the first two minutes, but no goals. The Bluejackets extended the lead to 2-0 at the 8:07 mark and to 3-0 at the 13:16 mark goals with goals that slipped past Mike Hart, who finished with 25 saves.
Christianson finally put the Falls on the board with 1:49 to play in the third, but Tromp — and penalties — doomed the Broncos.
“The story of the game I thought was we took too many penalties,” Prettyman said.
The Broncos were whistled for six penalties, including two, 10-minute checking from behind. Jeff Shermoen took three of the six and spent 14 minutes in the penalty box. Hibbing, who finished 1-for-6 with a man advantage, was whistled for five penalties.
The Bluejackets went up 4-1 in the third before Bounds recorded his goal with 5:32 to play. The Broncos had a flurry of action late, but they couldn’t solve Tromp.
International Falls returns to action Saturday in a home game against one of its own. Tony Couture, a 1985 FHS graduate, is bringing up his Little Falls Flyers, who finished third in Class A last season.
Game notes
• International Falls’ all-time record against Hibbing-Chisholm dropped to 68-55-4. However, the Bluejackets hold a 7-2 advantage since 2006, including two victories in the Section 7A tournament. Chisholm joined Hibbing as a co-op in 2005. The two teams have been playing each other since the Falls’ inaugural year in 1948.
2009-10 Broncos Boys Hockey Schedule
DATE OPPONENT TIME
12/1 HOME vs. Hibbing-Chisholm L, 4-2
12/5 HOME vs. Little Falls 4 p.m.
12/8 HOME vs. Eveleth-Gilbert 7:30 p.m.
12/12 HOME vs. Proctor 7 p.m.
12/15 HOME vs. Lake of the Woods 7:30 p.m.
12/18 at Virginia/Mountain Iron-Buhl 7:30 p.m.
12/19 HOME vs. Thief River Falls 3 p.m.
12/22 at Bemidji 7:30 p.m.
12/28 vs. TBD at Rochester Tournament TBA
12/29 vs. TBD at Rochester Tournament TBA
12/30 vs. TBD at Rochester Tournament TBA
1/5 at Fort Frances 7:30 p.m.
1/7 at Eveleth-Gilbert 7:30 p.m.
1/9 HOME vs. Hermantown 3 p.m.
1/22 HOME vs. Virginia/MI-B 7:30 p.m.
1/26 at Ely 7:30 p.m.
1/29 at Grand Rapids 7:30 p.m.
2/1 at Two Harbors 7 p.m.
2/4 at Hibbing-Chisholm 7:30 p.m.
2/6 at Silver Bay 7:30 p.m.
2/11 at Lake of the Woods 7:30 p.m.
2/12 HOME vs. Grand Rapids 7:30 p.m.
2/16 HOME vs. Roseau 7:30 p.m.
2/19 HOME vs. Fort Frances 7:30 p.m.
