“Pink the Rink” night at the Duluth Heritage Center featured a huge section 7A matchup between the Duluth Central Trojans and the Hibbing/Chisholm Bluejackets. The Trojans showed their true colors as they skated away with a 4-2 victory.
Levi Talarico figure in all four of Duluth Central’s goals by scoring the first two Trojan goals and then assisting on the last two goals on a night where the Duluth School District tried raising awareness of breast cancer in the second annual “Pink the Rink”. Players from both teams sported pink stick and shin guard tape as well as the pink ribbon helmet stickers.
The second period saw three goals, two of which came in the last 45 seconds of the period. Talarico hooked up Colin Magnuson with just under 45 seconds left in the period for a power play goal to give the Trojans a 3-1 lead. Pechnovik was in the box for cross checking and the goal would be the eventual game winner.
Then with just six seconds left in the period Pechnovik shot the puck past Zach Thompson to bring the game back within one goal. Duluth Central headed to the locker room with a 3-2 lead, outshooting Hibbing/Chisholm 10-6 in the period. The other goal in the period was Talarico’s second goal of the night coming with just under eleven minutes to play in the period.
The third period saw no scoring until Magnuson intercepted a pass on the Trojan blue line and rifled it down the ice off of his backhand and into the empty net with just 45 seconds to play in the game. That goal capped off a three point night for Magnuson. The final shots on net were 21-20 in favor of the Bluejackets. Duluth Central only had four shots in the first period.
Despite Central’s low amount of shots in the first period, they scored on their first shot of the game when Talarico tied the game at the 11:37 mark. Hibbing/Chisholm’s goal came just over one minute earlier when Joe Anderson scored his fifteenth goal of the season. The period ended with a 1-1 tie in goals while the Bluejacket led in shots 9-4.
This was a key matchup as it is Hibbing/Chisholm’s first loss against a section 7A opponent. They previously tied Duluth Marshall and they have already beat Virginia/MIB. The Bluejackets will play Virginia/MIB one more time this season.
Duluth Central needed this win to stay within the top seedings of the section as they’ve already lost to Virginia/MIB. Central’s last tough section opponent will be Duluth Marshall and they will play in early February.
1. Levi Talarico, Duluth Central
Talrico figured in all four of Central’s goals with two goals and two assists. He scored the first two goals and then assisted on the last two to help the Trojans win 4-1. Talarico now has 30 points on the season so far.
2. Colin Magnuson, Duluth Central
Magnuson figured in on three of the four Central goals. He assisted on the first goal and scored the last two including the game winner. Magnuson now has 29 points on the season.
3. Mike Pechnovik, Hibbing/Chisholm
Pechnovik figured in on both of Hibbing’s goal by scoring one and assisting on the other. His goal came with just six seconds left in the second period. Pechnovik now has 24 points on the season so far.