Undefeated Grand Forks Red River wrapped up the boys hockey regular season last weekend with one of its closest calls of the year. The Roughriders won 4-1 but took a 1-1 game into the third period.
The playoff feel to the game against Grafton-Park River was an ideal way to enter the postseason as No. 1 Red River will host No. 8 Devils Lake at 7 tonight at Purpur Arena in the quarterfinal round of the North Dakota East Region tournament.
This is the first year the regional tournament begins on a Tuesday at home sites. In the past, the tournament ran Thursday-Saturday. This year, the final two days of the tournament will be played Friday and Saturday at Purpur Arena.
Grand Forks Central, a No. 6 seed, opens the tournament against No. 3 Fargo North at the Fargo Coliseum at 7 p.m.
Red River senior forwards Cody Jennewein and Casey Fugleberg lead the region in scoring, as both players have more than 45 points.
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The Riders also have one of the state's top goalies in senior Bryan Nies, who has a save percentage of 93.5 and a goals-against average of 1.16.
"I want to see us ready to go full blast from the very beginning," Red River coach Bill Chase said. "This is a brand new season, so it's time to bear down and take nothing lightly."
The Riders are averaging more than six goals per game and have beaten the Firebirds 8-1 twice this year.
But Chase said Saturday's tight victory over the Spoilers was a good reminder that his team isn't invincible.
"Both games against Grafton were 50-50 games," Chase said. "It showed us that Grafton can definitely give us everything we want if we're not going as hard as we can. That was a good game to have; you'd rather learn a lesson and win than learn a lesson and lose."
Miller reports on sports. Reach him at (701) 780-1121; (800) 477-6572, ext. 121; or send email to tmiller@gfherald.com .
