Grand Forks KnightRiders hope tight games help at tournament time
Feb. 24—GRAND FORKS — The Grand Forks KnightRiders' girls hockey team used a strong defense and talented young scorers to tie the program's regular-season wins record from last season with 19 entering the state tournament.
In doing so, Grand Forks showed the competitive balance of the league — playing in seven one-goal games.
The KnightRiders were 5-2 in one-goal games this season, hoping that experience can be a weapon as the North Dakota state tournament begins Thursday in Fargo.
The KnightRiders, the No. 2 seed, face No. 7 Mandan at 5 p.m. in the opening round at Farmers Union Rink at Scheels Arena.
"All the games are close and all the teams are good," Grand Forks senior defender Bitty Balek said. "Seven seed or eight seed ... everyone is coming in to win. Do not look past any team you're going in against. For us, it's not who you play; it's how you play."
The KnightRiders have losses to the No. 3 and No. 5 seeds in the state bracket, yet have also played a 1-0 game with No. 1 Fargo North-South, the tournament's clear-cut favorite.
"The girls know what that feeling is like and know those situations," Grand Forks coach Kelly Kilgore said of one-goal games. "In those predicaments, we have that experience."
Kilgore credits the one-goal game success to a blue-collar style.
"It's a lunch-pail attitude," Kilgore said. "That's a staple for us, and I try to carry that each and every year. We have to outwork opponents and get to dirty areas to score goals. The way we've chose to build and attack is just hard work and being gritty, smart and good defensively. That's how we build to the way we're suited. We have good team speed and are able to buzz around the ice, which is good for the way we want to play."
As has been the case for most years in Grand Forks' recent history, the KnightRiders are strong in net with Kylie Schmaltz, who has a 1.76 goals-against average and a 92.4 save percentage.
The KnightRiders don't ask for a ton of scoring from the back end, but Grand Forks' success has been aided by a defensive corps that makes heady plays. That group is led by Balek, Elizabeth Kilgore, Keira Botnen, eighth-grader Hazel O'Connell and Kendra Kuznia.
"In my three years as head coach, we've always been really strong on the back end and that resonates out to the forwards," Kelly Kilgore said. "Kylie is having another really good year. She's tracking well. For the better part of any game, she's giving us a chance to win."
The KnightRiders are young up front with two of the top four scorers just freshmen. Freshman Alaina Marto leads the team with 19 goals and seven assists, while senior Chesney Sigdahl has 13 goals and 11 assists. Sophomore Ella Yahna has seven goals and 10 assists, while freshman Ella Bry has seven goals and nine assists.
"Seniority and age don't matter in our locker room," Balek said. "We're in it together. They're part of the program for a while, and we want them to enjoy it. I think us coming together and making sure our team chemistry stays up is one reason we can be playing on Saturday in that last game."
The KnightRiders took third two years ago and fifth last season at the state tournament.
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