Purpur Arena had a different feel Thursday night for the Grand Forks Central boys hockey team.
Gone was the frenzy of the rivalry matchup from Tuesday night against Grand Forks Red River, a game the Knights lost in overtime.
Still, Central shook off the emotional hangover and produced a 4-0 win over Devils Lake.
The Knights improved to 14-5-1, with the team’s only loss since Jan. 1 coming against Red River. Devils Lake, which lost to Central 7-0 earlier this season, dropped 8-11. The Firebirds have lost six of their last seven games.
“I think it was an emotional letdown, with all of the hype and television and media here,” Central coach Grant Paranica said. “It wasn’t as alive as that was.
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“But I thought we played pretty well. You can’t be too mad about a shutout against a hard-working team like Devils Lake.”
Central freshman Judd Caulfield scored on the power play to open the scoring in the first period. Less than four minutes into the game, Caulfield caught Devils Lake goalie Wyatt Ness on his back and out of position. Caulfield grabbed the puck behind the net and wrapped it around for his eighth goal of the season.
Paranica said Caulfield has emerged in the second half of the season as the rookie catches up to the speed of the high school game.
“I’m starting to settle in and move my feet,” Caulfield said.
Caulfield set up the Knights’ second goal, too. He drove the puck wide on a 2-on-1 rush and found Boe Bjorge out front for a tap-in goal to make it 2-0 at 3 minutes, 23 seconds of the second period.
“Ever since Christmas, Judd has been better and better,” Paranica said.
Central junior Grant Johnson, the state’s leading scorer, scored a power-play goal at 9:18 of the third period. Johnson, who assisted on Central’s fourth goal, now has 25 goals and 35 assists this year.
Nick Lund rounded out the scoring with a third-period goal from Tyrese Murph and Johnson. Lund’s goal came 31 seconds after Johnson’s tally.
