Grand Forks Red River has 14 seniors on its boys hockey roster. Grand Forks Central has only three.
Yet both teams have relied on juniors and sophomores for much of their success this season. Grand Forks Red River is 22-0-0 and the No. 1 seed in the East Region tournament, which runs Friday and Saturday at Purpur Arena. Central is 16-5-1 and the No. 3 seed.
"It is a bit unusual, having younger guys leading the way on good teams,'' Central coach Grant Paranica said. "In high school, sports generally are dominated by seniors.''
There isn't a senior among the top seven scorers for Central. Juniors Grant Johnson (27 goals-39 goals--66 points, which leads the state), Nick Lund (26-16--42) and Boe Bjorge (13-18--31) lead the way. Also in the top seven are sophomore Zack Murphy (11-14--25) and freshman Judd Caulfield (10-11--21).
Red River, with its strong senior class, has sophomore Braden Costello leading the Riders in goals (26) and points (48). After seniors Max Miller (24-20--44) and Jacob Knecht (17-22--39), sophomore Mason Salquist (18-20--38) is tied with senior Brock Montgomery (8-30--38) for fourth in scoring.
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"We always seem to have some good young guns on the teams in town,'' Red River coach Bill Chase said. "But we seem to be relying on them more than in the past.
"Braden and Mason are just really good players. They have talent, skill and an uncanny hockey sense. Usually it takes sophomores awhile to figure things out. But right out of the gate this year, they were contributing.''
Paranica can relate to what Chase has experienced with his talented sophomores.
Central was state runner-up last season with Johnson, Lund, Cam Olstad and Collin Caulfield each contributing more than 20 points as sophomores.
They've continued to excel while Bjorge (eight points last season) has picked up his offense skating on a line with Murphy and Judd Caulfield.
"Johnson and Lund were two of our best players last year,'' Paranica said. "But kids like Bjorge, Murphy and Judd Caulfield have really stepped it up, especially after Christmas. Bjorge has been a real leader on that line.
"We expected these juniors to contribute. A lot of them had good seasons as sophomores. They've met expectations; in some ways they've exceeded them this year.''
Red River, meanwhile, has been able to put together two high-scoring lines. Knecht teams with the sophomores on one line, with Miller, Tony Haley (19-17--36) and Mitchell Soderberg (7-8--15) on another.
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“You’re always looking for two good scoring lines,’’ Chase said. “They (sophomores) made it happen for us going along with our seniors.’’
Paranica said the good thing with all the young players is that most of them will probably be back next season. Chase sees a hockey future beyond high school for many of the young players.
"Our sophomores and Central's juniors, they're going to go places in hockey,'' Chase said. "You'll see some of those kids playing in juniors and in college in the future.''
