Welcome to the 2023 edition of 51 Hours of Fury, which sprung from staff writer David La Vaque. It designates the hours from 7 p.m. on the Wednesday before the boys hockey state tournament each year, when a frantic round of section finals begins, to 10 p.m. Friday, when the last qualifier for the state tournaments is known. Watch for more posts from La Vaque and for coverage of section finals during this year's 51 Hours of Fury.
Moorhead boys hockey coach Jon Ammerman kept an eye on the forecast Tuesday afternoon, uncertain whether his team would play as scheduled at 7 p.m. Wednesday night at Ralph Engelstad Arena in Thief River Falls.
The projected storm had shifted north, and it brought enough snow for Moorhead Public Schools to close Wednesday. As a result, the Class 2A, Section 8 championship game against Roseau was pushed to 7 p.m. Thursday at East Grand Forks Civic Arena.
Changing conditions and a need to be flexible have defined the Spuds' season.
Last season, Moorhead reached its fifth state tournament in six years. And talk of greater success in 2022-23 began building. Then the early departure of three varsity players to the U.S. Hockey League and a top Bantam AA prospect to USA Hockey's National Team Development Program Under-17 left the program reeling.
Thoughts of capturing an elusive state title — Moorhead is 0-for-8 in championship games — changed to: Put a fork in the Spuds. They're done.
Ammerman called the number of early exits in one offseason unprecedented for the proud hockey community located just across the Red River from Fargo. But the remaining players chose self-improvement over self-pity.
That's a big reason Moorhead (18-9) earned the No. 1 seed in the Section 8 playoffs. A victory Thursday against the No. 2 seed Rams sends the Spuds to St. Paul for next week's state tournament.