Grand Forks Red River found the perfect tonic Saturday night to shake the disappointment of not advancing to the championship game of the Herald Jason Stadstad Hockey Classic.
That cure-all for easing the unhappiness at losing to Bloomington Jefferson in a shootout Friday (the game officially went down as a 3-3 tie) was Red River's opponent in Saturday's third-place game, rival Grand Forks Central.
"After a disappointing loss, many times a team has a letdown the next game," said Red River senior Eric Meland, the leading scorer in North Dakota high school hockey.
"But with Central, we knew our emotions would be high."
Meland was at the top of the scoring sheet. He figured in on four of Red River's goals in a 5-1 victory over Central, scoring twice and assisting on two others.
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Central, a 7-2 loser to Roseau in Friday's other semifinal, was outshot 37-16 by the Roughriders but hung with Red River until the third period.
Nick Schaefer scored his seventh of the season for Red River to open the scoring and Meland netted his 13th just 13 seconds later, putting Central in an early hole.
Freshman Casey Purpur, the grandson of U.S. Hockey Hall of Famer Fido Purpur and Central's leading scorer, flipped in a rebound for his ninth goal of the season at 16:37 of the first period, giving Central hope.
But Meland's second goal of the game at 11:07 of the second period staked the Roughriders to a 3-1 lead after two periods. Closing goals by defenseman Ryan LaDouceur from 50 feet and by forward Jordan Bancroft on a breakaway late in the third period sealed the victory.
Meland may be the marquee player on a high-powered top line for Red River with Schaefer and Russel Crary. "When our team does well, it often stems from our line doing well," Meland said. "And we're clicking."
Meland was named as the player of the game by the Herald.
"He's very good offensively, very skilled," Red River coach Matt Malm said.
Red River, the defending North Dakota state champion, had been anticipating a matchup with defending Minnesota Class AA state champion Roseau in the title game of Stadstad Classic.
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Instead, the matchup came against the Knights.
"We would have preferred not to play them until Jan. 3," Malm said, "and I'm sure they feel the same way. It was kind of an ugly game."
Even so, Red River had an edge in experience and talent over the youthful Knights.
"At times we looked good today," Malm said, "and at times we looked complacent."
One bright spot for Central, 6-3 overall, was the play of senior goalie Alex Simmers, who finished with 32 saves.
Red River, 7-0-1 overall, had 15 saves from Pat Arnason.
For the second straight game, Central seemed to tire in the closing period.
"We held Roseau to a 2-2 tie after two periods and Red River to 3-1 after two," Central coach Tony Bina said. "Nothing to hang your head about there."
