Grand Forks Red River freshman Jordan Lunski and sophomore Andy Norman came into the week combining for zero goals and zero assists this season.
Lunski isn't listed in the East Region boys hockey tournament program. Norman is marked with the wrong number.
Yet the duo, freshly promoted from the junior varsity, combined for three goals and sparked the No. 1 Roughriders to a 7-0 victory over No. 8 seed Fargo Davies today in the East Region regional quarterfinals at Purpur Arena.
"We had a great game from our new guys," Red River coach Bill Chase said. "They kept things simple and went hard."
Red River, which improved to 16-6, advances to Friday's semifinals against the winner of Grand Forks Central and Devils Lake at 6 p.m.
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Davies, playing in its first-ever region tournament, will play in a loser-out game at noon. The Eagles, who dropped to 9-10-4, haven't beaten an East Region team that qualified for the region tournament this season.
An injury to Red River senior forward Brock Dahl forced the Riders to shake up the lineup. That opened the door for Lunski and Norman.
Starting slow against Davies, Lunski provided the spark.
Lunski notched his first career goal when he put back a rebound of a Jade Podell shot on the power play to make it 1-0 Riders with 4 minutes, 15 seconds left in the opening period.
"In our last practice, coaches were trying me out on different lines," said Lunski, who had skated just a handful of varsity shifts all season. "I found a spot on the third line and I like it. We started slow, but then got a couple of goals and the flood gates opened."
It wasn't always easy for the Riders - as the final score may indicate.
Although Taylor Steen scored shorthanded in the first period on a feed from Cody Jennewein to make it 2-0, the Riders went scoreless in the second period and Davies was on the verge of killing a power play to start the third period.
The momentum could have been a game-changer.
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Instead, Rider defenseman Matt Verke took the wind out of the Eagles' sails when he fired a shot from the point through traffic in front to make it 3-0 Red River with 12 seconds to go on the man advantage.
"I thought we played really well for two periods," Davies coach Brian Davidson said. "Red River just wore us down and we ran out of gas. They keep coming at you."
Through two periods, Davies goalie Tucker Windels had kept the Eagles close. He finished with 37 saves.
"Our goalies have been our backbone all season," Davidson said. "We needed to have gotten a goal early there. Credit Red River's goalie. But with our team, these are the games that are going to make us better."
The Riders finished with a flurry, scoring four more goals after Verke's crucial tally.
Two of those goals went to Norman in the final minute.
"In the third period, we started to forecheck hard and that's just what Red River does," Norman said.
