Jays claim consolation title, beat Minot in OT

• Celebration

The Jamestown High School girls’ hockey team celebrates after beating Minot in overtime in the fifth-place game at the state tournament in Grand Forks on Saturday. (Submitted photo)

Talk about it

The firsts keep piling up for the Jamestown girls’ hockey team.

After posting its first 11-win season, the Blue Jays defeated Bismarck 4-2 for their first state-tournament victory on Friday night, but Saturday was the capper.

The Blue Jays edged Minot 3-2 after Amber Schaack scored just over two minutes into overtime to give Jamestown its first-ever state consolation championship.

“That was the first overtime win since I’ve been here,” said JHS coach Brad Schaack. “I told the girls when it got to overtime, ‘The hockey gods are looking at us. They were looking at us (Friday) and they’re looking at us today. This is prime time for us to get our first overtime win.’”

Amber Schaack, after scoring a pair of goals in Friday’s triumph, not only scored the game-winner, but she also set up the equalizer with 30 seconds to go in regulation.

The junior fed Steph Kamlitz, who tied the game 2-all with her second goal of the tournament.

“We had a 5-on-3, so I pulled the goalie to make it a 6-on-3,” said Brad Schaack. “Amber got the puck to Steph, so Steph took it around the net, waited for the goalie to commit — she went down and Steph went high.”

Just like the Blue Jays did on Friday, Jamestown started Saturday’s game with the early lead.

Brenna Pritchert scored the game’s first goal just over seven minutes into the contest. LaCal Olson was credited with the assist — her first point of the tournament.

“For what the girls have been through this year and the adversity they’ve gone through, I can’t say enough about these girls,” Brad Schaack said. “I wish I could bottle this team and coach them again for the next four years.”

Minot scored the game’s next two goals — one in the second and one in the third — before Kamlitz knotted it up in the final minute.

“They got stronger as the game went on, which is amazing to me,” said Brad Schaack. “Back-to-back-to-back games with basically 10 skaters is a tribute to their conditioning and a tribute to their heart.”

Carissa Finck remained steady in net for the Blue Jays stopping 21 of the 23 shots she faced. Finck, who didn’t play in the state tournament last season, rose to the occasion for Jamestown over the weekend, providing optimism for next season as well.

The Blue Jays will, however, bid farewell to three seniors — three players Brad Schaack said will be missed.

“What a way to send the seniors out,” Brad Schaack said. “Morgan Geigle played every shift all three games. Her shoulder was really hurting today and I can’t believe that she played. There’s another warrior.”

Geigle wasn’t expected to return this season after getting hit from behind earlier this year in Grand Forks — breaking her clavicle and separating her shoulder — but she battled through the pain to join her teammates in the biggest three games of the year.

Jamestown finished the season with a 13-12-1 overall mark to give the Blue Jays one last first to round out the season — their first winning season.

“It was surreal,” Brad Schaack said. “I’m on Cloud 9. These girls have worked hard all year. … The dry training we had done before practice, the timed miles we’ve done, crunchers and whatnot. All that conditioning paid off.”

State tournament

At Grand Forks

Fifth-place game

Jamestown 3, Minot 2

Jamestown 1 0 1 1 — 3

Minot 0 1 1 0 — 2

Scoring

First period

1, JHS, Brenna Pritchert (LaCal Olson), 7:18.

Second period

2, MIN, Angie Lothspeich (Jenna Luedke), 9:06.

Third period

3, MIN, MaKayla Sandvold (unassisted), 15:57, SH; 4, JHS, Steph Kamlitz (Amber Schaack), 16:30, PP.

Overtime

5, JHS, Schaack (Torri Kamlitz), 2:28.

Penalties: Jamestown 5 for 10 minutes; Minot 7 for 14 minutes.

Goalie saves: Jamestown, Carissa Finck 6-6-7-2—21; Minot, Sydney Swanson 7-5-6-1—19.

Records: Jamestown 13-12-1; Minot 15-9-0.

Sun sports writer David Griswold can be reached at (701) 952-8462 or by e-mail at dgriswold@jamestownsun.com. Follow him at www.twitter.com/DGriswoldSun

Tags: jimmies, hockey, sports, jays