Photo by Noah Clooten
In the Firebirds’ first five periods against West Fargo this season, they outscored the Packers 8-4.
In the next three periods, West Fargo outscored Devils Lake 11-0.
The Firebirds surrendered three goals in the first period and five in the second in a game that quickly turned disastrous on Tuesday. In No. 6-seeded Devils Lake (8-14)’s first game of the 2025 EDC tournament, the No. 3-seeded Packers (17-5) took a resounding 9-0 win on their home ice. It ended Devils Lake’s three-game winning streak.
The Packers took 53 shots on goal compared to the Firebirds’ 18. Devils Lake goalie Brody Forsberg had 24 saves in 31 attempts (77.4%) before he was taken out of the game in the second period. His regular-season save rate was a sparkling 92%.
Backup goalie Matt Graue went the rest of the way and made 20 saves on 22 shots (90.9%).
Nine is tied for the most goals Devils Lake has given up in a game this season. It lost 9-2 to Minot on Dec. 17.
The Firebirds beat West Fargo back on Dec. 5, but lost to the Packers 5-3 on Jan. 20 and then again on Tuesday in their biggest game of the season thus far.
But their campaign is not over. The loss sent Devils Lake to the losers’ bracket of the EDC field, which picks back up this Friday. The Firebirds still have a path to state if they can win their next two games.
The first West Fargo goal came at 10:04 in the first period — setting off a chain of events that progressively sunk Devils Lake in a deeper hole. Grayden Peterson made a shot from mid-range to put the Packers up 1-0. West Fargo had control of the possessions, leading 7-3 in shots on goal at the time.
The Packers took 10 consecutive shots at one point.
The only penalty of the first period came at 11:06 — a tripping call on West Fargo. But the Firebirds didn’t score on their power play. Just seconds after the Packers returned to full strength, at 13:20, Zach Kasin poked one in the net from up close on the left side. It became 2-0 West Fargo.
And, less than two and a half minutes later, at 15:41, Bryce Mattern found the net with no defenders in sight. The Packers led 3-0 at the end of the first period with a 16-5 advantage in shots on goal.
The Packers took the first five shots of the second period. At 3:56, Ian Skari scored for West Fargo after a pass from behind the net. It was the fourth Packer goal in 26 attempts, compared to just six Devils Lake shots on goal.
Less than three minutes later, Mattern pulled a deceptive fake-out and poked it in the right corner of the net. Mattern was the first and only Packer to score twice. He scored his third goal of the game just a minute and 13 seconds later, concretely making this a blowout at 6-0. The second period wasn’t even halfway over yet.
At 8:02, West Fargo was charged with cross-checking — just the second penalty of the game. Fifty-six seconds later, Noah Betker scored despite the Packers being short-handed.
Devils Lake head coach Landyn Swenson took Forsberg out at that point and put in Graue.
Just over another minute later, at 10:06, Mattern scored his fourth goal of the game and third of the period.
It was a stunning 8-0 after two periods. West Fargo led 39-12 in shots on goal.
The Packers added one more for good measure with just a minute and 48 seconds left. Connor Kuntz knocked in an even-strength goal on Graue to make it 9-0.
It was the worst loss the Firebirds have suffered this year. It was an up-and-down regular season for them that finished on a high note, including a historic win over first-place Grand Forks Central.
Devils Lake will play in Purpur Arena on Friday roughly 30 minutes after the conclusion of the 11 a.m. consolation game. The Firebirds will face the loser of No. 2-seeded Grand Forks Red River vs. No. 10-seeded May-Port Area. If they lose, their season is over. If they win, they’ll play a state qualifier game on Saturday at noon in Purpur Arena.
