Grand Forks Red River - 4
Grand Forks Central - 7 (2 EN)
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Grand Forks Red River (6-4) [#2] at Grand Forks Central (5-4) [#3]
(Rankings based on points as of 1/4/09)
The first game of two this year is finally here. The rivalry is renewed yet again as two teams that have yet to prove themselves above the rest of the North Dakota competition get a chance to do so in this intense rivalry.
Here's an article that covers the game itself pretty well:
Area notebook: Knights search for offense, rivalry win
Tom Miller
Grand Forks Herald - 01/03/2009
On Jan. 27, 2005, Grand Forks Central’s Jake Stadstad scored three goals and added an assist to lead the Knights to a win over Grand Forks Red River.
That game, four seasons ago, is the last time Central has defeated rival Red River.
Central will get another shot Tuesday when it faces the Roughriders at 7:30 p.m. in Purpur Arena.
“It’s been a little while (since Central has beat Red River),” Central coach Tony Bina said. “It would be nice to get that win. Our biggest thing is that it’s a big conference game for us. We need those conference points.”
Central’s chances of snapping its intercity drought depend on its slumping offense, Bina said.
“Our biggest thing is what we’re able to do offensively,” Bina said. “Defensively, I’m pretty happy with things. Our offense needs to capitalize.”
In three games at the Herald Jason Stadstad Hockey Classic in late December, the Knights scored three goals in three games (losses to Roseau, Bloomington Jefferson and Blaine).
“That tournament definitely brought up some things we need to work on,” Bina said. “I thought we’ve had a good week of practice. Guys are getting shots off quicker and creating more opportunities.”
Bina said the Knights (4-4 overall, 3-1 East Region) are concerned with the offensive skill of the Riders (6-3 overall, 4-0 East Region).
“They have about six guys who can really put it in the net,” Bina said. “Against Blaine and Roseau, we controlled the play offensively and forced those teams to beat us down the ice.”
Junior forward Jake LaDouceur (5 goals, 14 assists), senior forward Russel Crary (9 goals, 5 assists), senior forward-defenseman Keith Howe (8 goals, 4 assists), senior defenseman Bryce Anderson (4 goals, 8 assists) and senior forward Jordan Bancroft (2 goals, 8 assists) each have more than 10 points this season.
For Central, sophomore forward Casey Purpur (4 goals, 6 assists) is the only player with 10 or more points.
Central’s defense, though, has made up for the offensive woes. Danny Ray, Paul Ladue, David Nelson, Dalton Spicer, Luke Cieklinski and Brett Dziwulski have given the Knights a deep defensive corps.
“We definitely have guys who can play the blue line,” Bina said. “Spicer can put a lot of pressure on teams. And Ladue has played well for a young guy. I’ve been happy with our defensive coverage.”
Central’s defense will get another boost as junior goalie Seth Lang, who has been out for a month with an injury, has begun practicing.
Lang and current starter Derek Fuller have split time the past two seasons.
Central is coming off a 4-1 win over the East Grand Forks, who Red River lost to earlier this season. However, as the article has been discussing, they still have a bit of trouble scoring. Central will have to look to their defensive core to hold the puck deep and make Red River work on their defensive zone rather than their offense.
Red River, on the other hand, is coming off a 3 unanswered goal loss to Fargo South on Saturday, but has statistically been doing much better on the offensive side of the puck. Red River is made up of a lot of smaller players but has a very quick team. However, in comparison to Central, they have a weaker defensive core that will need to step it up.
Both teams are mostly small and quick, which should lead to a fast paced game with a lot of scoring chances. The winner of this game will secure the second seed in the EDC for this part of the season and get a lead going in to the last half of it.
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After this game I will likely put up another thread with Red River versus Grafton on Saturday, I'm just more inclined to sleep at this point.