Boys Hockey 2025: East Grand Forks rides a wave of goals to upset victory
Posted: Friday, March 7, 2025 - 6:14 PM
Life as the No. 4 seed means a tougher path to success.
East Grand Forks was tagged with that seed in Class A prior to the Minnesota State High School League’s Boys Hockey State Tournament this week. If they could beat No. 5 Northern Lakes in the quarterfinals, the likelihood is that the Green Wave would meet top-seeded Hibbing/Chisholm in the semifinals on Friday, March 7 at the Xcel Energy Center in downtown St. Paul.
That indeed played out, even so much that Hibbing/Chisholm played the role of favorite by building a three-goal advantage midway through the second period. What wasn’t figured was the way East Grand Forks would flip the narrative.
The Green Wave, looking unfazed in the face of adversity, rattled off five unanswered goals to stun the Bluejackets in a 7-5 victory. Instead of settling for a season-ending appearance in the third-place game, the Green Wave (15-13-2) will play for a Class A championship for the first time since winning it in 2015. East Grand Forks won the previous season as well.
Senior defender Cole Bies scored two goals in the five-goal uprising while senior forward Hunter Varnson added a goal and assist to guide the Green Wave’s fourth consecutive win during the postseason and a Class A championship berth opposite St. Cloud Cathedral.
Midway through a 2-7-1 stretch to end the regular season, the Green Wave lost 11-5 to St. Cloud Cathedral on Jan. 31. It would seem certain that at the time, no one figured those two teams would meet again on Saturday, March 8 with the Class A championship at stake.
The Green Wave’s three-goal deficit was whittled to just one with less than a second left in the second period. Senior defender Judd Pesch gave the Green Wave a major lift going into the second intermission when he pushed a shot into the net.
As anticipated, the momentum had indeed shifted. Eleven seconds into the third period, Bies tied the score. Thirty-nine seconds later, he scored on the power play, and suddenly, East Grand Forks had their first lead, one it wouldn’t lose.
