MINNESOTA SECTION 8A TOURNAMENT: East Grand Forks, Park Rapids Advance To Semi-Finals

Courtesy of Grand Forks Herald:

East Grand Forks 4, Kittson Central 2:

After a long break in action, it didn't take long for the East Grand Forks Senior High boys hockey team to get back into the swing of things.The Green Wave jumped to a 4-0 lead after one period and hung on for a 4-2 win over Kittson Central on Friday in the quarterfinals of the Section 8A tournament.

East Grand Forks faces Park Rapids in the semifinals Monday in Ralph Engelstad Arena in Thief River Falls.“We caught them off-guard with our speed,” EGF coach Cory Chupka said. “We just needed to get back in the groove. We'd been off since last Tuesday.”

Michael Lukkason, Jake Useldinger, Joey Wikoff and Zak Aubol scored first-period goals for EGF.While EGF out-shot Kittson Central 11-1 and 13-6 in the final two periods, Kittson Central goalie Scott Lindegard kept the Green Wave out of the net.“Their goaltender put up a brick wall,” Chupka said. “(Kittson Central) came out hard and scratched and clawed.”

Ryan Johnson and Jack Deere scored third-period goals for Kittson Central.

Park Rapids 9, Lake of the Woods 2:

Zach Lehrke's five goals and two assists lifted Park Rapids to a quarterfinal victory over Lake of the Woods.Park Rapids, which outshot Lake of the Woods 48-23, pulled away with five second-period goals.Danny Usiski and Cody Hasbargen scored goals for Lake of the Woods.