East Grand Forks may wield the nickname Green Wave, but it was St. Cloud Cathedral that resembled an unending tide on Friday afternoon. 

Wave after wave of Crusader skaters came after No. 3 seed East Grand Forks (22-8), eventually wearing the Green Wave down with their dearth of skilled players in the 6-2 victory. 

“Obviously, their first line gets a lot of press and rightfully so,” East Grand Forks coach Tyler Palmiscno said during the postgame press conference. “But their second (line) had their first two goals if I’m not mistaken,” Palmiscno continued.

Sophomore forward Landon Parker, who had two assists in the loss, echoed his coach’s sentiments. 

“At this stage for them to bring it like that, it was just hard to respond,” Parker said.  

Palmiscno added that the mobility of St. Cloud Cathedral defenders Reid Bogenholm and Jon Bell frustrated the Green Wave forecheck throughout the game.

Bell, who St. Cloud Cathedral coach Derrick Brown says is one of the team’s best skaters, took an unfortunate spill during the pregame player introductions, adding a layer of levity to the Crusaders’ task at hand. 

“I did not see that coming at all,” Bell said with a grin. “But it happens. Sometimes you fall.”

Brown said he was curious to see how his team would react after the silliness had subsided. 

“It’s kinda one of those things where I’m like, what’s going to happen here?” Brown said. “Are we going to be thrown off by it? Are we going to relax?” “It didn’t seem to really bother us. We had a good start.  

Snickers and internet memes aside, Crusader junior forward Jack Smith was all business, scoring two goals and routinely harassing the Green Wave in their defensive zone. 

“He’s a two-hundred-foot player,” Brown said. “We never to worry about him. We know he’s going to bring it every single (game).”

In addition to Smith’s two tallies, Jackson Savoie, Blake Perbix, Ethan Cumming, and Cullen Hiltner scored single goals for the Crusaders, while goaltender Noah Amundson stopped 33 of 35 shots.

Cole Avery and Trey Ausmus scored in the loss for East Grand Forks. 

Smith, who is verbally committed to Minnesota-Duluth, attributed the Crusaders’ advancement to the state championship game, a berth only secured by one other St. Cloud Cathedral team in nine tournament appearances, to the team’s chemistry. 

“I feel like we’re just really close this year,” Smith said. “We all hang out away from the rink; we just bond really good together.”

Despite fielding an offer from the U.S. National Development Team after a sparkling tryout in Canton, MI, Smith opted to return for his junior season with the Crusaders. 

“This was the goal,” Smith said. “One more (game) to go.”