Facing the first-place team in the East Region, the Devils Lake boys’ hockey club knew Friday was going to be a tough battle.
The Firebirds (6-9-1, 3-8) fought to stay in the game against Grand Forks Red River (12-3, 10-1), but a lapse at the end of the first period was enough for the Roughriders to win comfortably, 5-1, on Devils Lake’s home ice.
“When you’re playing a tough team like that that moves the puck really well, getting out of position costs you,” head coach Landyn Swenson said. “They took away our goalie’s eyes.”
Roughly the first 12 minutes of the game didn’t see any scoring. Devils Lake was doing a solid job of controlling the puck and threatening on Grand Forks’ side of the ice, despite the Roughriders still outpacing them in shots on goal.
Grand Forks finally broke through with 5:34 to go in the first quarter. The Roughriders began to establish firmer control of the puck, and less than three minutes later, another goal went in. Less than a minute after that, a third goal found its way into the net. A game that had been competitive in the opening minutes now saw Devils Lake buried in a 3-0 hole.
“There was just a couple breakdowns in the zone,” Swenson said. “We fixed those after the first period. We changed some things up.”
Grand Forks outshot Devils Lake 13-5 in the first period. Despite a three-goal deficit, the Firebirds kept fighting and played a much tighter second period. Austin Thompson ended the shutout with a goal at the 10:12 mark, falling over in the process. He reached out his stick just far enough to poke it in, eliciting a cheer from the bench.
“It was a hard-working play,” Swenson said. “He did his job. He got open when he needed to, got that breakaway and put it in the back of the net. We’re gonna always benefit on those hard-working plays. It was a good break, gave us some energy.”
Grand Forks kept pace with another goal in the period. Still, Devils Lake kept the shots on goal down to 10-7, and the teams simply traded goals in the second period.
The Roughriders outshot the Firebirds a whopping 15-2 in the third period, but just one went in the net. Goalie Brody Forsberg had a typically solid game, though he’d likely want those last few minutes of the first period back.
“I’m happy with how the guys worked hard,” Swenson said. “Just a little bit more of a position thing.”
Rylan Bydal finished with two goals for Grand Forks, which stayed in first place with its win. Devils Lake remained in seventh place and will continue play on Jan. 23 against eighth-place Fargo Davies.
“We’re just gonna keep coming every single day to practice, to games, working our butt off in order to be successful,” Swenson said. “That’s what we preach, so we’re just gonna keep working hard.”
Joseph “Mojo” Hill is a reporter covering Lake Region sports for the Devils Lake Journal. Contact him on Twitter @mojohill22 or at jhill@devilslakejournal.com for any tips, questions or story ideas.
