Class 1A boys' hockey quarterfinal: Thief River Falls 6, Princeton 1

Channel 45's "save of the game" was replayed on the massive Xcel Energy Center scoreboard in the third period, a stop by Princeton goalie Gabe Pangerl to deny Thief River Falls senior Ethan Johnson a hat trick.

Minutes later, Pangerl's replacement, Owen Othoudt, fared not so well. Johnson buried his third goal of the game and 49th of the season to cap a 6-1 victory in a Class 1A quarterfinal.

Johnson came into Wednesday responsible for 38 percent of Thief River Falls' 121 goals. He maintained his catalyst role, netting the first two goals for the Prowlers (23-6).

"We knew about him and tried to shut him down," Princeton coach Jeff Hanson said. "A kid like him doesn't need a lot of chances. He's the real deal."

Johnson, a 5-10, 160-pound senior forward, padded his program single-season goal record. He previously topped the mark of 42 held by Jack Erickson since the 1950-51 season.

"I'm trying my best to score as often as I can," Johnson said. "It helps a lot to start playing good early. It gives us a little cushion."

Second-period goals from Brendan Bushy and Riley Bakken put the Prowlers ahead 4-0. Jake Oakes scored for Princeton (21-8) later in the second to cut the deficit to 4-1.

"In practice it's almost kind of scary when you see [Johnson] coming down to take a shot on you." Prowlers goalie Kade Nelson said.