13 hours Ago By Conrad Engstrom
LITTLE FALLS — Another Little Falls boys’ hockey player went into the 100-point club last week. Senior Joey Welinski assisted on the overtime game-winning goal in a 2-1 win over the Northern Lakes Lightning to become the 26th Flyer to join the 100-point club Jan. 21.
ADVERTISEMENT Just seconds into overtime, Welinski won a faceoff in the Flyers’ offensive zone. Ryan Oothoudt took a shot. The Northern Lakes’ goalie saved it.
Then Luke Avery put the rebound in the net for the game-winner. “My favorite part is I got my 100th point on an overlooked part of the game,” Welinski said. “Draws are very important and at that moment I won my draw and we won the game in overtime, which was awesome.
It just so happened that it was also my 100th point.” Welinski entered the game needing one point to reach 100. “It was pretty exciting,” Welinski said.
“I went into the game thinking I would get it. It seemed like it wasn’t going to happen. Then there was a situation where we needed to win a faceoff and that’s an important play.
I wasn’t thinking about getting a point in that moment, but it was pretty special and nice to celebrate with my team.” Avery joined the 100-point club earlier this season. Both Avery and Welinski have been varsity players since they were freshmen.
“Luke and Joey are pretty special kids,” Little Falls’ head coach Joey Hanowski said. “They were both freshmen that I called up my first year and they’ve both been impact players. Joe is a kid that our program is built around.
He is hard-working and humble and I’m very happy for him.” Welinski added: “It’s cool that we could both experience that together. I played with guys like Matt Filippi, who finished with 200 points, and Carter Oothoudt and Hayden Johnson who got to 100 points.
Seeing those guys after congratulating me meant a lot.” ADVERTISEMENT Welinski plays forward and is second on the Flyers in points with 12 goals and 10 assists. His production has increased with points in five of his last six games.
He scored two goals and dished an assist in a 5-2 win against Alexandria Jan. 14. He scored two goals in a 4-1 win against Crookston Jan.
18. His assist for his 100th point was his only point against Northern Lakes, but he also recorded an assist in a 5-1 loss to Monticello Jan. 23 and scored a goal in a 3-2 loss to St.
Cloud Cathedral Jan. 28. “He’s had a strong overall season,” Hanowski said.
“He’s not leading our team in points, but he’s been our best overall player, just from the total aspect of the game. He brings hard work on the ice. He’s got elite speed and he can shoot the puck.
He’s just been getting it simple lately and putting pucks on net and finding guys that are open.” His three-point performance against Alexandria tied him for the most points in a game this season. He scored a goal and dished two assists in a 4-2 win against Southwest Christian Jan.
3. He tallied three assists in a 3-1 win against St. Cloud Cathedral Jan.
7. “He is the definition of a quote that is in our locker room that says: ‘When you play the game the right way, the game pays you back,” Hanowski said. “He’s never cheated for points.
He’s never cheated the game. And those types of players get rewarded. He’s always been a hard-working, talented kid for us.
That hasn’t changed since he was a freshman to a senior captain.” Last season, Welinski was third on the team in points with 17 goals and 16 assists. As a sophomore, he collected 25 points with 15 goals and 10 assists.
He tallied 22 points with eight goals and 14 assists as a freshman. “Of our three captains, he is probably the most vocal,” Hanowski said. “He was the guy this summer planning workouts at the rink.
He was making sure kids had rides. He wants to make sure everyone feels included on the team. He also holds them accountable and makes sure they’re doing everything they need to do to get better.
” ADVERTISEMENT The Flyers are 11-6-2 with six games remaining in the regular season. The Flyers are Class 1A’s 11th-ranked team. Fourth-ranked Monticello and seventh-ranked St.
Cloud Cathedral are in Section 5-1A with Little Falls. “Playing with Little Falls has been a lot of fun,” Welinski said. “We’re a tight-knit group.
I think the main thing that I’ve gotten better at is how to work hard. The best part is seeing how much potential our team has. We can play at a very high level against very good teams.
We’ve been finding more consistency lately.” Other notable performances : Basketball : Jack Kovatovich, Crosby-Ironton, scored 23 points against Pine City. Ethan Millsop, Crosby-Ironton, scored 20 points against Pine City.
Noah Moss, Aitkin, scored 25 points against Rush City. Isaac Asmus, Aitkin, scored 22 points against Rush City. Nathan Cekalla, Pierz, scored 22 points against Royalton.
He scored 29 points against Milaca. Harrison Kennen, Pequot Lakes, scored 21 points against St. Cloud Apollo.
Tate Norman, Pine River-Backus, scored 21 points against Walker-Hackensack-Akeley. Eli Rutten, Staples-Motley, scored 29 points against Park Rapids. He scored 28 points against Hawley.
Avandre Brandt, Staples-Motley, scored 25 points against Park Rapids. Mason Lundgren, Pequot Lakes, scored 21 points against St. Cloud Cathedral.
Kobe Snyder, Wadena-Deer Creek, scored 28 points against Park Rapids. Hockey : Drew Paulbeck, Northern Lakes, finished with four points against Dodge County. Hudson Hathaway, Wadena-Deer Creek, finished with four points against Kittson Central.
Year: Senior School: Little Falls Sport: Boys hockey Position: Forward Highlights: He became the 26th player in Flyers’ history to tally 100 career points..
