MOORHEAD — It's state tournament time for many hockey teams in the region, and just like last year, there is a scramble as the weather has become another opponent for teams and fans trying to get to their big games.
The Moorhead High School Spuds Girls Hockey team originally planned on leaving Wednesday, Feb. 22, at 11 a.m., but, forecasts from the national weather service are predicting close to one to two feet of snow over the next couple of days down there.
They changed their plans and decided to leave at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday and were met with an official escort out of town towards the cities.
Moorhead Police and Fire Department crews helped make it a special moment for the team. Even some students brought signs to help send their classmates to the state tournament, which is their first trip in almost two decades.
The team didn't even know about it until they went on the ice for practice that afternoon.
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"When we kinda started this program like 10 years ago, we didn't really get much support, it was all kind of focused on the boys and now that we get our thing and our own send off and you know there's people coming to our games and even if there is not as much fans, it's still exciting," said Junior Defensemen Kate Kosobud.
Head Coach Ryan Kraft said the decision to leave earlier is actually going to make the weekend easier for his team.
"Actually, I think it benefits us really. I mean, the girls are just so excited and school is the furthest thing from their mind right now," Kraft said. "They want to get down there and I think getting down there early allows us to familiarize ourselves with the area and being in a hotel."
The Spuds will play on Thursday and luckily have the 8 p.m. game. They are hoping that allows fans a window during the snow to come down.
Fergus Falls is also in the state tournament this year in Class A. They will play Wednesday night at 8 p.m. and they are already down there.
The 2023 NDHSAA Boys Hockey Tournament is also this week, starting on Thursday, Feb. 23 at the Ralph Engelstad Area. Many of the the teams are moving their travel plans up to Wednesday and some teams are planning to stay the weekend instead of driving back and forth.
For those who can't make it to Grand Forks this weekend, catch those games on WDAY and WDAY Xtra starting Thursday.
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