Photos by Noah Clooten
DEVILS LAKE — Devils Lake boys’ hockey, fresh off an upset win on the road, got to showcase the 2024-25 team in front of the home fans for the first time on Tuesday.
The Firebirds put up a fight against the defending state champion, Grand Forks Red River. They took an early lead on a goal by Logan Stokke, with assists to Weston Stromme and Cayden McCarthy. But Red River (3-1) outshot Devils Lake 54-19 and eventually took the Firebirds (2-2) down 3-1. The Roughriders scored one goal in each period.
“We were a little sluggish,” head coach Landyn Swenson said. “We had a couple sick guys, and it showed on the ice a little bit… Just couldn’t finish it in the end.”
Brody Forsberg saved 51 of 54 shots for a percentage of 94.4.
“Forsberg back there helped out a lot,” Swenson said, “but [we] just couldn’t put the puck in the back of the net when we needed to.”
Devils Lake is 2-1 now in EDC play. Red River is 3-0, though one of its victories was an overtime win.
The Firebirds struck first on Stokke’s goal. It was his fourth goal of the season after only one all of last year. He found a wide-open net at an angle and swatted into the middle of the net.
It was a physical start with clusters of skaters on both sides of the ice. But Red River still largely controlled the early possessions, taking 26 shots on goal in the first period compared to Devils Lake’s five.
Forsberg kept the Firebirds ahead for most of the period, coming up with numerous saves in tight situations and reacting quickly at the net. But with 1:26 left in the first period, Red River finally snuck one in on a rebound.
Forsberg had two more saves before the end of the period, giving him 25 already. But the Roughriders’ advantage in shots brought them to the first break with the contest tied.
Less than two minutes upon returning to play, Red River took the lead. At 15:30, Forsberg saved a shot that came on a drive from around the back of the net. But five seconds later, a screamer flew past Forsberg’s right shoulder into the goal.
Forsberg held strong for the rest of the period, despite Red River still controlling the possessions. It was a closer 12-8 in shots on goal for the period, but still a dominant 38-13 overall in favor of the Roughriders. Stokke and last year’s leading scorer for Devils Lake, Brody Parker, each got a shot off about a minute apart at 9:51 and 8:54, but Red River goalie Rilan Korynta saved them.
“The second period, I thought we came out pretty strong,” Swenson said.
The game’s first penalty came with 1:11 left in the second period. Red River was charged with tripping. But the Roughriders outlasted the Firebirds for the rest of the period, then held them off for the remaining 49 seconds of the power play that carried into the third period.
Devils Lake was hit with its first penalty on 13:55, with cross-checking charged to Weston Nelson. The Roughriders swarmed the perimeter of the net during the power play, but one shot was too high and another was a little low, and the Firebirds survived.
Red River continued to take aggressive shots. It nearly scored on a running play where Forsberg fell down and left some of the net exposed.
The Roughriders were charged with interference at 5:44, giving Devils Lake one of its final prime opportunities. A shot by Ben Larson was saved, and Red River cleared it back to the other side of the ice. Devils Lake only got it back to the Roughriders’ goal in the final seconds of the power play, with a save on a shot by Parker.
Larson was sent to the box for slashing with 3:24 left in the game. Thirty-eight seconds later, Red River put another one in the net to effectively end Devils Lake’s comeback chances.
The teams were charged with coincidental penalties at 2:03, setting up a 4-on-4 contest for basically the duration. Stokke committed interference with 50 seconds to go. But it hardly mattered for either side as Devils Lake took a two-goal loss in the end.
The loss dropped the Firebirds to a tie for third in the EDC to begin the season.
“We’re gonna have a very competitive year,” Swenson said, “as long as we can stay healthy, stay out of the box and continue to do our systems correctly.”
