Blue Jays roll

42 seconds.

That’s how much time Jamestown senior Carissa Finck had left to score her first career varsity goal in front of her hometown fans.

“And, it’s even a one-timer for crying out loud,” JHS girls hockey coach Brad Schaack laughed. “My goalie gets a one-timer and some of my regular players have been trying to do that for a while.

“But, yeah, it was pretty nice.”

Finck — one of the state’s top goalies with a 91.1 save percentage in 19 games heading into Friday night’s contest vs. Dickinson — rifled a shot through the 5-hole in the closing seconds while playing the forward position, capping a 7-1 Blue Jay victory over the Midgets at Wilson Arena.

“When the time was running out, I was trying to be realistic and think, ‘I’m not going to get it,’” Finck said. “And then when I scored, I just. I don’t know. I was so excited!

“Our last home game, senior year, it’s kinda nice to wrap things up.”

Finck played the first period between the pipes, collecting 5 saves, before Coach Schaack turned goaltending duties over to sophomore Ally Dion for the final two periods. Dion picked up the win the last time the Jays and the Midgets met up (Jan. 5), as she collected 11 saves in a 12-1 Blue Jay victory.

Dion allowed just one goal on Friday night, and finished the game with 6 saves.

Jamestown largely dominated the ice, outshooting the visiting Midgets 42-12, but Schaack was a tad concerned with the opportunities Jamestown (16-5, 14-4) missed out on the ice with the season winding to a close.

“Dickinson has improved. There’s no doubt about that since the last time we played them,” Schaack said. “But we must have had 20 Grade A scoring chances. Their goalie played well, but a lot of them we shot right in her gut.

“We looked uninspired at times tonight … but it’s a win.”

The coach’s daughter, Amber Schaack, continued her impressive senior season on Friday, picking up 3 unassisted goals in the contest to record the hat trick. She was tied with the state lead in goals scored at 33 with West Fargo’s Haley Walsh to start the night.

Amber, now with 36 tallies, has scored a goal in all of the Blue Jays’ 21 games played this year.

Jamestown led 3-0 after the opening 17 minutes. Schaack scored first just over 4 minutes into the game, then the Jays picked up back-to-back goals coming just 55 seconds apart.

Those goals were scored by sophomore Tori Kamlitz, her 9th of the season, and eighth-grader Elly Milender, her 8th of the year. Jamestown sent 19 shots on goal at Dickinson goalie Kelsey Gillen in the first period.

Gillen posted 35 saves on the night.

“We finished 8-2 at home, which is pretty awesome, with two more to go before state,” Brad Schaack said. “But that was the most chances I’ve seen us have in a while and not convert on them. But it was the last home game and we’re happy (with the win.)”

Most of chances the coach was referring to came while the Jays were on the power play. Jamestown had four power-play opportunities and failed to convert during any of them. Jamestown did, however, score a short-handed goal, as Amber Schaack scored a shorty to complete the hat trick with 16 seconds left in the second.

The Jays led 5-1 after two periods and senior forward Steph Kamlitz posted her 15th goal of the season in the third, as all three Jamestown seniors on the ice on Friday night found the net in their final career home game.

Finck is the only goalie in the state to have scored a goal so far this year. She has a goal and an assist on the season.

Grand Forks goalie Brelyn Swendseid has posted 2 assists on the season, while West Fargo’s Andrea Klug has 1 assist.

“They’re pretty much like my family. We’ve skated together since 14U,” Finck said of her team. “To see them every day for four months out of the year is just incredible. I can’t thank them enough for what they do for me.”

With the win, Jamestown improved its current winning streak to 6 games, dating back to a 4-2 victory over Minot back on Jan. 25. Jamestown also upped its record of wins in a season to 16.

The Blue Jays still have a pair of road games left to play before the regular season winds to a close. Jamestown will be at Devils Lake (2-16) on Tuesday, before heading to No. 1 West Fargo (16-1) on Friday.

Jamestown dispatched of Devils Lake 6-1 back on Dec. 18, but fell by that same score to the Packers at Wilson Arena on Jan. 8.

“We’ve just got to keep working hard … stay focused,” Finck said. “I think we can definitely beat West Fargo, we’ve just got to put ourselves out there and keep working hard.”

The state tournament is slated for Feb. 21-23 in Grand Forks.

“We play West Fargo, the toughest team in the state, in our last game of the year. And, right before state, that’s who you really want to play,” Brad Schaack said. “You’re going to state knowing you just got done playing the toughest team. It should prepare us.”

Jamestown 7, Dickinson 1

Dickinson 0 1 0 — 1

Jamestown 3 2 1 — 7

Scoring summary

First period

1, J, Amber Schaack (unassisted), 4:11; 2, J, Torri Kamlitz (Haley Schnaidt, Haley Hillstrom), 10:41; 3, J, Elly Milender (Brenna Pritchert, Steph Kamlitz), 11:36.

Second period

4, J, Schaack (unassisted), 6:51; 5, D, Kira Zastoupil (unassisted), 14:51; 6, J, Schaack (unassisted), 16:44 (SH).

Third period

7, J, S. Kamlitz (Schaack, Schnaidt), 5:35; 8, J, Carissa Finck (Schnaidt, T. Kamlitz), 16:18.

Goalie saves: D, Kelsey Gillen 16-12-7—35; J, Carissa Finck 5-x-x—5, Ally Dion x-3-3—6.

Penalties: D, 4 for 8 minutes; J, 2 for 4 minutes.

Records: Jamestown 16-5, 14-4 state; Dickinson 1-17, 0-15 state.

Sun sports writer Michael Savaloja can be reached at (701) 952-8461 or by email at mikes@jamestownsun.com

Tags: sports, jays, hockey