UND HOCKEY: Brock Boeser to take Grand Forks student with Down syndrome to prom

Brock Boeser piled up 60 points as a UND freshman, won a national championship and now he's going to prom with the Homecoming Queen.

Boeser will walk with senior Baylee Bjorge for Grand March during Grand Forks Central's prom on Saturday night.

Bjorge, born with Down syndrome, is a fixture at sporting events and is popular among the student body. They voted her Homecoming Queen last year.

Bjorge created a Twitter account and asked Boeser if he would go to prom with her. But Bjorge's mother, Katie Marcotte, shut down her social media accounts, unaware that she had asked Boeser to prom.

"I don't like her on them," Marcotte said.

Boeser tried to respond, but couldn't, because the account had been shut down. He tracked down a mutual friend to get a phone number for Marcotte. He texted Marcotte on Tuesday night, asking if he could still take Baylee to prom.

Marcotte didn't know much about Boeser, though. She asked her oldest son, Boe, one of the top scorers on the Central boys hockey team: "Who is this kid?"

"He said, 'Are you serious? He's one of the best hockey players in the country. That's amazing,'" Marcotte said.

Bjorge hadn't planned on going to prom, but quickly found a dress Tuesday while she was on vacation with her family in Florida. She's returning Friday from the vacation.

Boeser, a first-round draft pick of the Vancouver Canucks, is Baylee's favorite player.

"I'm excited," Baylee said. "It's amazing."

Marcotte said: "I just couldn't believe how he went way out of his way to track us down."

Baylee, 20, was technically a senior last year at Central, but can still go to the school for two more years. UND forward Colten St. Clair attended her graduation party last year, bringing her a hockey stick and an autographed jersey.

"These boys have really taken care of her," Marcotte said.