Dynasty and Breakthrough: Central Rolls to Another Title as West Fargo United Seals Historic Run
Grand Forks Central captures its 31st boys hockey state championship over Red River, while West Fargo United earns its first title as a co-op after a memorable girls tournament run.
FARGO (KVRR) – For the third straight year — and the 12th time overall — the North Dakota Boys Hockey State Championship came down to a familiar rivalry between Grand Forks Central and Grand Forks Red River. This one didn’t take long to tilt in Central’s favor.
Just 10 seconds into the game, junior forward Ryder Rivard gave the defending champion Knights a 1–0 lead, striking before the Red River defense could settle in.
“Yeah, it was pretty quick,” Rivard said. “I just kind of got a good pass from my teammate, Coop, and he made a good play to get it over to me. I went forehand to backhand and put it in.”
Central built on that early momentum, adding two more goals by the end of the first period to take a 3–0 lead. The Knights pushed the advantage to 4–1 in the third before Red River’s Caden Ulmer trimmed the deficit to two, but any comeback hopes were erased when Cooper Deziel buried an empty-net goal to seal the win.
The victory delivered state championship No. 31 for Grand Forks Central.
“I mean, every one means the same,” said junior forward Rylan Spicer, who was named tournament MVP. “The tradition at Grand Forks Central is unreal, and we hope to keep building that moving forward.”
Head coach Grant Paranica, who captured his sixth state title behind the Central bench, echoed that sentiment.
“Central has a long tradition of playing good hockey over many years,” Paranica said. “To be able to give another one to the school is just tremendous.”
And doing it against a crosstown rival made it even sweeter.
“Oh yeah, it makes it so special,” Spicer said. “Both teams give everything 100 percent, so it makes it amazing to win.”
In the girls’ championship, West Fargo United completed a historic run, edging Grand Forks 2–1 to claim the program’s first-ever state title as a co-op.
While it marked a milestone for the United co-op, it was the third state championship in West Fargo girls hockey history, following titles in 2010 and 2014.
West Fargo United’s path to the championship was as impressive as it was improbable. The team knocked off No. 4 Bismarck Century in the quarterfinals, erased a two-goal deficit to stun No. 1 North-South in the semifinals in double overtime, and then took down No. 2 Grand Forks on Saturday to finish the job.
“I mean, it means a lot,” said sophomore goalie Reagan Wilson. “I can’t believe this is my first year of high school hockey, coming in here and winning a state title with all these girls. I just love them so much.”
Senior forward Payton Stocker said the title was the payoff for a year of unfinished business.
“It means everything,” Stocker said. “Just being here was enough for us, and then going out and working as hard as we did. It means so much to finish the job, because last year we came up short — but this year, we got it done.”
