Brown steps up at tournament time

As Centurys Chris Brown prepared for his state hockey tournament debut against Grafton-Park River last year, there were some divided loyalties in his family.

My moms side is from Grafton, Brown explained. My grandma called to tell my mom that she doesnt know who to cheer for, but she cant cheer for us.

Grafton certainly takes its hockey seriously and so does Brown. The junior forward is hoping to help the Patriots create some of the winning tradition the Spoilers are known for when Century heads to the state tournament this weekend in Grand Forks.

Even though the Spoilers knocked off Century, Brown has a deep appreciation for the Spoilers.

Its a great town. It may be small, but they sure develop the players, he said. Grafton always has and always will come to play at tournament time.

Brown is starting to develop the same reputation. In his eight postseason games for Century, Brown has notched seven goals and six assists. He has been held off the scoresheet only once.

Hes just one of those kids who really brings the effort, Century coach Troy Olson said. Hes skilled, hes physical, hes coachable, and he loves the game. His attitude is contagious.

Brown has a track record of making big plays. In last weeks West Region championship game against Minot, Brown scored two goals the second was mistakenly credited to a teammate including the third-period equalizer that spurred Centurys comeback victory.

He has a knack for scoring goals, which he showed on those two backdoor plays against Minot, Olson said. Hes got good instincts, and he does a lot of little things well.

Brown earned plenty of ice time last season as a sophomore, registering 13 goals and 13 assists. This season he has been even better with 16 goals 17 if you count the one he was shorted and 23 assists.

He has been productive enough to earn a spot on Centurys first line, with all-stater Alec Rauhauser and sophomore Keaton Leininger. The trio was dominant last week in Minot.

!

Alec and I have played together pretty much the whole season. We had some chemistry playing together in the summer, Brown said. Keaton is a great fit. He knows where to pass, hes got a great shot and he just has overall hockey sense.

Century opens the state tournament against Fargo North at 6 p.m. today. The Patriots have made it to the semifinals just twice before in 2002 and 2010. But the Patriots did beat the Spartans 2-0 when they met in their season-opener.

North has three players who have reached double figures in goals Cole Selberg (15), Jackson Graalum (11) and Max Teschendorf (10).

Theyve got a top line thats pretty salty, with good speed, Olson said. Weve got to keep doing what weve been doing. Weve got to get a lot of pucks to the net, be gritty in front, play well defensively.

We dont need the planets to be aligned to do well this weekend, Olson said. We just need to bring the effort.

Brown said he is eagerly anticipating the chance to play at state.

Everyone brings their A game. Its something special, he said. Last year when we played Grafton, that was probably the funnest game Ive ever played in. The atmosphere is great. Everyone is playing to their top performance level. Its just a great game.

This year it will be Bismarck squaring off against Grafton-Park River, today at 8:30. Coach Mike Peluso says he considers his Demons, the third seed from the West, to be big underdogs against the Spoilers, who were No. 2 in the East.

We certainly dont have to play a flawless game to beat them, he said. But we have to be on our A game, and if they play their B game, we can nip them.

Bismarcks top offensive threat is Jared Spooner, who has 24 goals and 17 assists. Other top producers include Cooper Cox (27 points), Bryce Eckman (20 points) and Brandon Gieszler (12 goals).

The Spoilers are led by junior Jade Miller, who has 25 goals and 22 assists. Other double-digit scorers include Peter Hills with 13 and Cole Rehovsky and Levi Cudmore ! with 10 e! ach.

Our kids have been inconsistent, but it seems like they thrive on a challenge, Peluso said. Thats good, because we feel like we have our backs up against the wall going into it.