Landon Parker doesn’t have fins, cannot breathe underwater, and does not have a week dedicated to him on the Discovery Channel.

But make no mistake, Landon Parker is a shark. 

The East Grand Forks sophomore pounced on two different set of mistakes by Minnesota River during Wednesday’s third period, effectively cementing the 5-2 win for the No. 3 seed Green Wave (22-7). 

“Landon, when he’s on, he attacks with some jam,” East Grand Forks coach Tyler Palmiscno said after the game. “For him to take off like that in the third was huge,” Palmiscno continued. “I liked his attack mentality.”

Parker said that his second goal, which consisted of a leg-shimmy, faked shot, and backhand conversion, was more calculated than replay let on. 

“I was thinking if I got backhand top-shelf, he’s gotten me with the glove a couple times,” Parker said. “So I thought I’d try to hit him with the left side. It worked out.”

Parker first scored after intercepting an errant pass in the Minnesota River zone and burying a shot top-shelf to extend the East Grand Forks lead to 4-2. Then 63 seconds later, Parker again took advantage of a Bulldog miscue, scoring on a breakaway after Minnesota River failed to complete a line-change. 

“That was probably more of a coaching break down than anything else,” Minnesota River coach Shea Roehrkasse said. “We were slow getting a kid out there, and the (East Grand Forks) kid capitalized on an opportunity.”

In addition to Parker’s shorthanded tally, the East Grand Forks pressure kept the Bulldogs (20-5) from setting up in the Green Wave zone, a testament to the team’s tenacity while killing a penalty. 

“Give credit to East Grand Forks, their penalty-kill was aggressive and didn’t give us a whole lot of room to move,” Roehrkasse said. 

The Green Wave rolled to a 3-0 lead early in the second period, with Tanner Mack potting two goals after Jackson Galstad’s opening score. 

Even up 3-0, Palmiscno felt his team wasn’t as dialed-in as he would have preferred. 

“The first two periods, I thought we fought it,” Palmiscno said. “We fought pucks; we got outworked, we got out-competed. I didn’t think we were real sharp.”

Palmiscno led the Green Wave to back-to-back titles in 2014 and 2015, so if anyone knows how to prepare teenagers for a four-day tournament that can sometimes feel endless, it’s him. 

“We left Monday this year like we did in 2015, which really lightens the load for us on Tuesday,” Palmiscno said. “Leaving Monday allows us to get a little more rest and relax a little bit in the hotel.”

The extra rest may come in handy when the Green Wave take on St. Cloud Cathedral in the semifinals, considering the No. 2 seed Crusaders thumped the Green Wave 7-2 on Dec. 1. 

Senior forward Tanner Mack said that extra rest or not, the Green Wave would be ready for the Crusaders. 

“Oh yeah,” Mack said when asked if the East Grand Forks skaters wanted another chance at St. Cloud Cathedral. “You always want a (shot) at redemption, right?”