FARGO — West Fargo Sheyenne beat Grand Forks Central on Monday to earn its first berth in the state tournament. On Thursday, the fourth-seeded Mustangs knocked off the West's No. 1 seed Jamestown in the North Dakota boys hockey state quarterfinals.
Sheyenne (13-12) added to an already historic week as it pulled off a 3-2 win over Jamestown (20-5) at Scheels Arena.
"It feels amazing," junior defenseman Zach Moser said. "Coming in as underdogs and being able to get the dub against the No. 1 seed feels really good."
Moser set up all three goals for the Mustangs, who held off a late Jamestown comeback to advance to Friday's semifinals, where they'll face East No. 2 Fargo Davies.
"It was a fun game. It's what you want out of high school hockey," Sheyenne head coach David Benson said. "Jamestown, that's a team that's not going to sit there and lay down."
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Moser flashed his playmaking abilities in the tournament opener, finishing with three assists.
"I like to play as a two-way defenseman," Moser said. "It's what I worked on all last season, and it's finally starting to pay off."
If the Mustangs had any nerves in their first state appearance, they certainly didn't show it. Sheyenne came out strong with a hard forecheck and high energy. They created turnovers in the offensive zone and kept Jamestown pinned in its own territory for stretches at a time.
Sheyenne's first opportunity came two minutes in when Cullen McCarthy intercepted a breakout pass and ripped off a slapshot from the point. The team's first goal followed a minute later when Chase Hapka one-timed a Moser feed off the faceoff into the back of Jamestown's net.
Moser helped extend the lead on the power play at the 10:05 mark. The junior defenseman carried the puck down the ice, beat a defender and fed Jayden Rogen from behind the net, who one-timed a goal from the low slot.
The Blue Jays had a couple chances late in the first period, one on a broken 2-on-1, but were unable to capitalize.
After dictating most of the opening period with a relentless offensive attack, Sheyenne picked up right where it left off in the second frame. Moser set up another goal 2 minutes, 26 seconds into the frame that gave the Mustangs a 3-0 lead that would stick until the third period.
After he was stuffed on a wraparound attempt, Moser fired a pass from the top of the circle to Carson Teckenberg, who buried the puck from the doorstep of Jamestown goalie Brode Hillstrom's net.
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Sheyenne held a 27-18 shot advantage after the first two periods, but the Blue Jays came out flying in the third period.
After going scoreless in the first two frames, Jamestown scored two goals early in the third period. Hunter Nelson won the draw and got it back to Tyson Jorissen, who rifled off a shot from the point. Nelson deflected the shot into the back of the net for Jamestown's first goal of the game at the 5:11 mark.
Nelson deposited a second rebound try 1:35 later to make it a one-goal game. Nolan Nenow, the state's leading scorer, nearly tied the game halfway through when he intercepted a pass in the neutral zone, flew down the ice and got a shot off that hit the right post.
Sheyenne didn't hit the panic button when Jamestown hit a late surge.
"We've been in this situation before, a handful of times, and a couple of times we've lost it; but as of recently, we've been pulling through," Benson said. "We were warriors today and we were gritty and we found a way to win."
FIRST PERIOD: 1, WFS, Hapka (Moser), 3:03. 2, WFS, Rogen (Moser), 10:05pp.
SECOND PERIOD: 3, WFS, Teckenberg (Moser), 2:26.
THIRD PERIOD: 4, J, Nelson (Jorissen), 5:11. 5, J, Nelson (Roaldson, Nenow), 6:46.
SAVES: WFS, Buchholz 10-8-8—26. J, Hillstrom, 11-13-9—33.
