Central routs Red River in boys hockey

Grand Forks Central delivered a pair of surprises to a near-capacity crowd at Purpur Arena on Tuesday night.

The first shocker was skating out backup goalie Eric Melland to start for just the second time this season.

The second stunner was triggering running time with an eight-goal outburst.

Melland stopped 31 shots and the Knights poured in five goals in the third period to rout Grand Forks Red River 8-2 in the first matchup between the rivals this season.

"We had to go and outwork (Red River)," Central coach Tony Bina said. "That's what won this one. We brought our lunch pails and went to work."

Against the Riders, the Knights decided to split up their top trio of forwards Johnny Simonson, Luke Johnson and Jordy Aamot.

The results included two goals from Simonson, two from Tyler Haug, four assists from Johnson and a five-point night from Jared Sorlien (goal, four assists).

But the biggest change for the Knights may have been in net, where Melland stuffed 11 shots in the first, 12 in the second and eight in the third.

"(Melland) did a great job swallowing the puck," Red River coach Bill Chase said.

Bina told Melland after practice on Monday he would start against the Roughriders.

"This is only my second varsity start so I was pretty anxious about it," Melland said. "I just wanted to keep my head straight. The team helped a lot. A lot of the shots were outside. They weren't quality chances, which made it easier."

Melland, a big frame at 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds, was sturdy throughout.

"The last couple of weeks, he's been good in practice," Bina said. "He was strong in our holiday tournaments. Now we have two guys (along with Derek Fuller) who have an opportunity to work for that spot. Whoever plays the best will get the job."

The Knights improved to 6-3, snapping out of a funk that had the team losing three of their last five games. Red River, meanwhile, dropped to 7-2 and lost to a North Dakota opponent for the first time this season.

The game didn't start swimmingly for the Knights, who trailed 1-0 after the first period on a goal by Red River's Casey Fugleberg. The Riders also outshot Central 12-4 in the period.

But the second and third periods would swing in the opposite direction.

The Knights scored three times in the middle period behind two goals from Haug and one from Sorlien.

"We came out in the first period and things didn't go our way," said Haug, who doubled his goal output for the season. "But we kept fighting. We knew it was going to be a battle. We came in with the right mindset and pulled it off."

Central scored a flurry of goals in the third period to bring on running time with more than six minutes left in the final period.

Red River's Matt Verke scored at 6:45 of the third to cut Central's lead to 4-2. The momentum was short-lived, however, as two goals from Simonson and one each from Jeremy O'Keefe and Alec Lazur all came in a span of less than three minutes.

Riders goalie Bryan Nies finished with 12 saves on 20 shots.

Red River coach Bill Chase had a hard time putting a finger on exactly why things went wrong for the Riders.

"We did come out with fire, but something was missing," Chase said. "It's one of those unexplainable things where every single bounce seemed to not go our way. And Central came at us hard every shift. They have some players who are very hockey smart."

Red River plays East Grand Forks Senior High on Thursday at the EGF Civic Center.

"I'm glad we have a game right away, instead of sitting around for 10 days or something," Chase said. "I told them they can go home and be disappointed and angry. But they have to let it go. They have to come back. It's a chance to show character and see what we're made of."

GF Central 8, GF Red River 2

Key play: Gage Salquist's goal for a 4-1 lead early in the third period.

Key player: Eric Melland, 31 saves.