Jays hang with champs: Fargo North skates past Jamestown in non-region game
The blitz came early in the second period. Defending state champion Fargo North overcame a slow first period with three goals in the first 5 minutes of the second. The onslaught paved the way for a 4-0 nonconference win Tuesday at Wilson Arena.By: By Chris Aarhus, The Jamestown Sun, The Jamestown Sun
- Image
- Image
The blitz came early in the second period.
Defending state champion Fargo North overcame a slow first period with three goals in the first 5 minutes of the second. The onslaught paved the way for a 4-0 nonconference win Tuesday at Wilson Arena.
The Spartans (13-3) were fresh off a 3-1 win over East Region rival Grand Forks Red River on Monday.
“We did have back-to-back-night legs,” North coach Rob Aasand said. “We knew Jamestown was going to come out and play physical and take advantage of that.”
North’s Jackson Graalum ended the stalemate just 16 seconds into the second frame. The senior forward took a Michael Gunderson pass from behind the net and drilled it from the right side past Jamestown goalie Tygh Yatskis.
Aasand said the goal started a barrage that was in part due to a speech by the team captains during the first break.
“They said, ‘We can’t go and put an effort forth like that against Red River and then sit on our laurels and not come out and play well against Jamestown,’” Aasand said. “They decided to send that message. They came out quick with a few line adjustments and potted three quick goals.”
The second score came on a right-side rebound from Max Teschendorf. Daric Thompson and Ethan Woods assisted on the power-play goal. The final score of the second came from Woods with an assist from Spencer Klein.
North goalie Austin Toussaint had 17 saves.
Jamestown coach Matt Stockert said he was pleased with 46 minutes of the contest.
“You take away (five) minutes of the second period, that’s a one- or two-nothing hockey game,” Stockert said. “To sit on our thumbs for those (five) minutes … I know we didn’t get a shot off in that time frame. There was no real offense to generate from.
“I think our kids got out of it and played a pretty good end of the second period.”
Jamestown killed off a 5-on-3 opportunity in the first period, which played out in similar fashion to the third period, which saw North’s Spencer Helming nab a meaningless goal in the waning minutes. In both, the Blue Jays had opportunities on offense, but couldn’t convert.
Jamestown goalie Tygh Yatskis stopped 24 shots in the loss.
Jamestown (6-7) plays its next four games at home with West Fargo on Thursday and Hazen-Beulah on Saturday. They also host Minot on Tuesday and Bismarck Century the following Thursday.
“We need to try and find the win column here,” Stockert said. “With most of those being region games, the schedule’s kind of in our favor when it comes to that. … It’s gut-check time for us, no question about that.”
Fargo North 4, Jamestown 0
Fargo North 0 3 1 — 4
Jamestown 0 0 0 — 0
Scoring
First period
No scoring.
Second period
1, FN, Jackson Graalum (Michael Gunderson), 0:16. 2, FN, Max Teschendorf (Daric Thompson, Ethan Woods), 3:57, power play. 3, FN, Ethan Woods (Spencer Klein), 4:41.
Third period
4, FN, Spencer Helming (Graalum, Tyrell Schloesser), 15:41, pp.
Goalie saves: FN, Austin Toussaint 5-4-8—17. J, Tygh Yatskis 9-7-8—14.
Penalties: FN 5 minors, J 7 minors.
Sun sportswriter Chris Aarhus can be reached at (701) 952-8462 or by email at caarhus@jamestownsun.com
More from around the web
RSS Feeds