On the first shift of the game, Tanner Tweten blew by a Roseau defenseman wide, cut to the net and scored a goal.
It was just a preview of things to come.
Tweten scored three goals and added an assist, linemate Dixon Bowen had two goals and five points and East Grand Forks Senior High put Roseau on running time with an 8-0 victory at the East Grand Forks Civic Center.
The defending state champion Green Wave scored on the first shift of each period and pulled away from the Rams with a four-goal second period.
By the end of the game, Senior High's top line of Tweten, Bowen and Reed Corbid had combined for six goals and 11 points.
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"They have the ability to score any time they touch the puck," Senior High coach Tyler Palmiscno said. "I thought Tanner Tweten had one of his better games this year in the fact that he played like a 6-foot-2 power forward. Both of his goals were big-time goals and he made other strong plays that a big power forward should make."
Roseau coach Andy Lundbohm said he thought his team competed hard, but got an awakening from the Green Wave (12-3).
"We ran up against a very, very good team," Lundbohm said. "That's as good of a team as we've faced all year. They came at us with speed. I felt like we developed some scoring chances, but they transition so quick. They transition quicker than anyone we've seen all year and they made us look silly at times, no doubt about it."
In addition to Senior High's top line, junior Grant Loven also had a big game with two goals and an assist, while senior netminder Garrett Lieberg stopped all 22 shots for his first shutout.
Tweten put the Green Wave ahead just 21 seconds into the game, but the Rams gave a strong push the rest of the period. They had chances to even the game with an extended five-on-three power play, but couldn't do it.
Then, Senior High blew the game open in the second.
Bowen breezed by a defenseman wide and went hard to the net for a power-play goal at :39. Loven scored on a shorthanded breakaway at 5:29. Bowen added another one on a power-play blast at 9:15. And Tweten fired a wrister through a screen at 13:52.
"Scoring an early goal, sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad," Palmiscno said. "I thought the rest of the first period, we let them dictate the pace of the play. We didn't really play at our speed. The second and third periods were much better. We played hard, we played fast and we made plays."
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Lundbohm said he hopes this game makes the Rams (8-7) better.
"Now we know what level we need to compete at in practice," he said. "We talk about competing harder in practice and keep reminding players they need to compete harder. We haven't seen this level of competition, so maybe they didn't know exactly how hard they need to be competing."
