After the first period, Williston coach Dustin Bratlien had the feeling that not much has changed for West Region hockey, the understudy to the East Region teams for years.
Williston trailed Fargo South -- a perennial East Region power -- 1-0 after the opening period. Another East Region team, it appeared, was on course for another win against the West.
But things did change in the final two periods. For Williston, things changed for the better as the Coyotes stunned South 4-1 on Thursday in the quarterfinal round of the North Dakota state boys hockey tournament at Ralph Engelstad Arena.
It was Williston's first-ever quarterfinal win at the state tournament in eight appearances.
"It's been a long time in coming," Bratlien said. "We got that big monkey off our back, finally. It's real nice."
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The win may not have been pretty, but it was gritty. The Coyotes were outshot 43-30 and a good chunk of the game was played in the Williston zone. But the Coyotes got standout goaltending from McCade Evanson (42 saves) and managed to stand tall in their defensive zone against the Bruins' pressure.
"After the first period, there were the same blank stares in the locker room," Bratlien said.
A handful of players, including senior standout Jordan Nelson, said a few words and the direction of the game changed. "I don't know what they said and I don't care," Bratlien said. "They said the right words."
Williston tied the game at 1-1 on Nelson's goal at 3:11 of the second period. The Coyotes took control early in the third period when Chaz Mosby scored a power-play goal at 3:39.
Colton Brostuen's scorcher from the left point was deflected in by Mosby, and all of sudden everything was in place for a Williston upset.
Cote Dickerson and Nelson added empty-net goals to seal the win.
The win capped strong back-to-back games by West Region teams as Bismarck High skated past West Fargo in the opener.
"It's an unbelievable feeling," Nelson said. "Hopefully, now we can get a little respect from the East instead of being the underdog all the time."
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South's lone goal came from Tyler Sorenson at 4:28 of the first.
"It was one of those games," South coach David Benson said. "We played well, and often that's overlooked. We had chances all night. The puck just didn't go into the net. We had our opportunities and we ran into a great goaltender."
Williston, which will meet Bismarck High in tonight's semifinals, improved to 18-3-3 while South dropped to 14-9-2.
West Region hockey, as far as South is concerned, has improved greatly.
"It wasn't our year against the West," said Benson.
The Bruins dropped all three of their games against West Region teams this season.
Williston 4, Fargo South 1
Key play: Chaz Mosby's goal for 2-1 Williston lead.
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Key player: Jordan Nelson 2 goals, two assists.
