The East Grand Forks Senior High girls hockey team has four games this week.
At the rate Green Wave forward Leah Jensen is going after the first two games, she might just make a run at reclaiming the state's scoring lead by week's end.
After scoring four goals against Detroit Lakes on Monday, Jensen followed with two more goals against the Grand Forks KnightRiders in Senior High's 4-2 victory on Tuesday night at Eagles Arena.
"Leah stepped up big a couple of times," Senior High coach Jim Scanlan said. "That's what she does."
Jensen, who entered the day fifth in the state in scoring, tallied her 30th and 31st goals of the season against the KnightRiders. Morris-Benson forward Dani Schultz leads Minnesota with 38 goals after she scored a hat trick Tuesday night against Pequot Lakes.
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"We have a lot of young girls," Grand Forks coach Darin Schumacher said, "and (Jensen) is fast. We're just not used to her speed."
The teams entered the third period tied at 1-1 before Jensen scored twice, both times giving the Green Wave the lead -- the second time for good.
Jensen, who has signed to play at UND, made it 2-1 a little more than 3 minutes into the third period when she forced a turnover at neutral ice and deked Grand Forks goalie Ali Sondreal on a breakaway for the short-handed goal.
Grand Forks junior forward Jaiden Hansen scored 32 seconds later to even the game at 2. However, Jensen would strike again at 12:49 of the third period when she broke free and placed a shot over the shoulder of Sondreal for the 3-2 lead.
Green Wave junior Emily Swenson, who also scored on a breakaway 1:28 into the first period, tacked on a goal less than a minute later to seal the victory.
"Our whole team played very well," Scanlan said. "We competed very hard, and that was the key for us. This is a good natural rivalry. It's been a competitive game ever since I've started coaching. Grand Forks has a good team."
Scanlan was especially complimentary of Sondreal, who finished with 32 saves. The senior made all 18 stops in the second period.
"She made some big saves," Scanlan said. "We certainly had some Grade A chances."
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Although the loss snapped Grand Forks' three-game winning streak, Schumacher said his team is still playing well.
"We played well again tonight, but we can't find the back of the net," Schumacher said. "In general, we played a solid game. We just turned the puck over at the blue lines too many times."
The KnightRiders, who dropped to 7-4, also received a first-period goal from Nicole Novak. Grand Forks plays Thief River Falls on Saturday.
The Green Wave, who improved to 11-5-1, received 23 saves from goalie Tamara Twite. Senior High hosts Thief River Falls on Thursday and Lake of the Woods on Saturday.
EGF Senior High 4,
Grand Forks 2
Key play: Leah Jensen's goal for a 3-2 lead with 4:11 left in the third period.
Key player: Jensen, two goals.
