Grand Forks senior Julie Johnson had impeccable timing for her first goal of the season.
It sent the KnightRiders to the state semifinals.
Johnson's shot from the blue line stood as the game-winner as Grand Forks defeated Bismarck 5-2 on Thursday in the quarterfinals of the North Dakota state girls hockey tournament at Ralph Engelstad Arena's Olympic rink.
Grand Forks, a No. 5 seed, faces No. 1 West Fargo at noon today in REA's main rink. Bismarck faces Williston in the consolation bracket.
Johnson isn't even quite sure how she scored at 6 minutes, 4 seconds of the third period.
ADVERTISEMENT
"I have no idea," Johnson said. "I shot it and luckily it went in."
The KnightRiders, who improved to 11-9-2, tacked on two empty-net goals for the final margin.
"It was nice to see Julie get that goal," Grand Forks coach Darin Schumacher said. "She works really hard for this team."
It was quite the turnaround for Grand Forks, which lost 7-3 to Bismarck earlier this month.
"This is the best Grand Forks has played in any of the games we've played them," Bismarck coach Matt Strinden said. "It just didn't seem like it was our night. But that's not to take anything away from Grand Forks. They played hard."
Bismarck, which dropped to 14-7-1, led 2-1 early in the second period on goals by Katelyn Friedt and Brianna Flynn.
But the KnightRiders answered quickly. Grand Forks sophomore defender Brenna Nakonechny lobbed a shot on goal from the point at 8:08 of the second period. The heavy traffic in front screened Bismarck goalie Kasandra Cariveau to tie the game at 2.
Nakonechny's and Johnson's goals from the blue line appeared to be both by luck and design.
ADVERTISEMENT
"We noticed that when we would wind up, their goalie would go down," Johnson said. "So we tried to shoot high."
The KnightRiders were also able to corral Bismarck's leading scorer, Maddy Gendreau. Gendreau, the state's second-leading scorer with 57 points, was held without a point.
Gendreau had six points in Bismarck's 7-3 win over Grand Forks in the regular season.
"The goal was to cover all of (Gendreau's) linemates because you can't cover her," Schumacher said. "We were able to take some of her passes away."
As a result, the KnightRiders are a win away from the state championship game.
"It'll be tough because West Fargo is a tough team," Johnson said of the semifinal matchup. "But I think we'll be ready."
