After a two year absence, Fargo Davies is headed back to the North Dakota state boys hockey tournament.
The Eagles overcame a two-goal deficit in the third period to beat Grafton-Park River 5-4 on Saturday afternoon in a state-qualifying game at the East Region tournament at Purpur Arena.
Benji Bryant, Jake Boor and Gage Hanson scored goals in the third period for Davies. The Eagles, who had been outshot 22-17 through two periods, outshot the Spoilers 19-5 in the final period.
"At the start of the third, the guys were all excited," Davies coach Brian Davidson said. "We rode that emotion, and it was a fun ride."
After Grafton-Park River's Ryan Lessard scored his second goal of the game at 3 minutes, 19 seconds of the third period for a 4-2 lead, the Eagles took over.
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Bryant scored on the power play at 7:36 when his relentless play at the crease resulted in a goal to cut the lead to 4-3.
At 11:12 of the third period, Boor made a skilled individual play to tie the game. He weaved through a pair of defenders and roofed a shot up high from close range.
Hanson would then tally the game-winning goal on a setup from Boor at 13:24.
"Boor went to the right side, and I tried to find some open space," Hanson said. "I just had to make sure the puck didn't jump my stick. I put it on net and tried not to miss."
The Spoilers spent more than the final 90 seconds with an extra attacker. Grafton-Park River had a few looks with their goalie pulled but Davies goalie Jordan Elliott stopped any late threats.
"I think we gripped the sticks a little tight and played not to lose instead of playing to win," Spoilers coach Darin Schumacher said. "We got a little too excited when we got that fourth goal."
Isaac Miller and Levi Cudmore scored on the power play for the Spoilers in the final minute of the first period as the Spoilers took a 3-1 lead to the first intermission.
For Davies, Hunter Lucas scored in the first period and Ryan Stalpes inched the Eagles closer with the game's only goal in the second period to cut the Spoilers' lead to 3-2.
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"I've never been to a state tournament," Hanson said. "This is something different."
Davies, the East Region No. 4 seed, improved to 11-12. The Spoilers, a No. 7 seed, ended the year at 8-16.
