FARGO — It may have been Valentine's Day but there was evidently no love lost between West Fargo Sheyenne and Fargo North in its boys hockey East Region quarterfinal game on Tuesday night.
The contest had everything postseason hockey represents — a physical affair and tightly-contested game from the drop of the puck to the final horn.
In the end, it was the No. 4 seed Spartans prevailing, topping the No. 5 seed Mustangs 1-0 at the John E. Carlson Coliseum to advance to Friday's East Region semifinals.
Junior forward Ray Walen had the lone goal of the contest at 4:54 of the first period, jumping out of the penalty box and picking up a stretch pass from senior forward Connor Holm to setup a breakaway.
"I saw it right away," Walen said. "I knew where I had to go and Connor Holm passed it perfectly. I knew I was scoring."
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It was Walen's team-leading 15th goal of the year to send his team into Friday's semis. The Spartans (14-6-2) will now face top-seeded and defending state champion Grand Forks Red River (19-2-1) at 5 p.m. at Grand Forks' Purpur Arena.
"If you've grown up around the sport long enough you know that it really starts to mean something in February," North head coach Tyler Klein said. "Hopefully I speak for all of the couples that it was a good way to celebrate Valentine's Day, but there wasn't a lot of love for each other out on the ice. We knew that's what it was going to be, especially with how solid the EDC is this year.
"I'm really proud of of our guys for the effort and the 'bend, don't break' mentality."
Both goaltenders were sharp, with Spartans senior Nolan Astrup recording a 21-save shutout for his fifth goose egg of the season. Sheyenne senior Riley Swanson stopped 34 shots.
"Kudos to their goaltender," Klein said. "He was really good and obviously ours was really good, as well. The goalies came to play and really put a nice display out there for everybody. It was a fun atmosphere. Fun to win here in a game like that."
The Mustangs had their chances, including a 5-on-3 power play chance in the third period that stretched 1 minute and 28 seconds. But they were unable to find the back of the net.
Swanson was pulled for the extra attacker with 1:04 remaining in the game, and Sheyenne's best chance came in the final 10 seconds when sophomore forward Hudson Routh attempted a turnaround shot that Astrup stopped.
North proceeded to collect the puck and take it to the corner to tick off the remaining seconds.
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There were 27 penalty minutes in total, 14 for the Spartans and 13 for the Mustangs. North finished an impressive 6-for-6 on the penalty kill.
"Some of those penalties turned into being a product of the game," Klein said. "The referees did a good job and I think part of that was them trying to police it so it really didn't get crazy. There were moments where our guys were on the line of, 'every hit and the whole rink is looking at the referees.' "
The Mustangs (12-10-0) will now play No. 8 seed Devils Lake (4-17-2) in a loser-out game slated for 11 a.m. Friday at Purpur Arena. The Firebirds fell to the Roughriders 16-1 in Tuesday's quarterfinal round.
As for the Spartans, they're one step closer to advancing to the state tournament for the first time since 2013.
"It would be tremendous for our community," Klein said. "And it starts with our hockey team but it filters through out community. It was really cool to see the community come out. You don't get (the fans) for every home game but they were all out (tonight) and that was really cool. It's been a goal of ours for a long time and we've had good kids come through this program that haven't been able to feel that.
"We're doing it for a heck of a lot more than the 20 guys in the room right now. But to put it simply, it means everything. We want to be there. We know we've got a strong team but we also know how strong the EDC is. Our guys are laying out and doing everything possible to try and get this group there."
Walen knows the path doesn't get easier going forward, especially against a lethal Roughriders team. Although a loss to Red River wouldn't be the end of the road for the Spartans, it's a game the team still wants to win.
"We know it's always a battle up in Grand Forks and they're the No. 1 team," Walen said. "We're going to have to want it and we're going to have to score some goals."
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FIRST PERIOD: 1, FN, Walen (Holm), 4:54.
SECOND PERIOD: No scoring.
THIRD PERIOD: No scoring.
SAVES: WFS, Swanson 13-9-12—35. FN, Astrup 6-7-8—21.
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