Davies interim coach Dean Wilson beats Fargo South program where he won three state titles

Dean Wilson was in a strange place Friday night at Purpur Arena.

The veteran Fargo South coach was on the opposite bench of the Bruins this time.

Fargo Davies' new interim head coach, however, was in a familiar place in terms of winning playoff hockey games.

Wilson's Eagles used two goals from star forward Cade Stibbe to beat Fargo South/Shanley 3-0 in the East Region semifinals at Purpur Arena.

Davies, the No. 3 seed, plays Grand Forks Central in the region championship at 5 p.m.

"I know a lot of those guys," Wilson said of the Bruins. "For me tonight, I was excited someone from Fargo was going to the state tournament. It was a little tough. I'm a Davies hockey coach, but I'm 25 years with the Bruins."

Wilson was the boys hockey coach at Fargo South from 1990-07, leading the Bruins to 12 state hockey tournament and three state titles in 1994, 1999 and 2006.

Davies jumped on the Bruins early. Jackson Bellerud and Stibbe scored less than four minutes into the game. Stibbe now has 20 goals on the year.

Meanwhile, the Eagles outshot the Bruins 18-3 in the first period.

It was a surprising lopsided period. South certainly wasn't much of a favorite in the game, despite a No. 2 seeding, but the teams split results during the regular season.

"In some respects, it was our worst game of the year," South coach Dean French said. "We were slow to everything in the first period. That's not normally how we play. That was very disappointing. We didn't match their energy in any way. We didn't do the things that got us here, and we need to regroup and do those things. If we do that, we'll be fine."

Wilson knows it's going to take a giant effort to knock off undefeated Central in the region championship.

"They're a level above," Wilson said. "They have so much depth and who do you guard? We know it's got to be flawless. It has to be flawless tomorrow night and hopefully we get another shot down the road. We can't hurt ourselves because if we get in the way of ourselves, we're in trouble."

Fargo Davies 3,
Fargo South/Shanley 0

First period-1. FD, Jackson Bellerud (Tyler Corbid, Conner Turnquist) 2:16; 2. FD, Cade Stibbe (Austin Schmidt) 3:59

Second period-3. FD, Stibbe (Cameron Rheault) 7:45

Goalie saves-FD: Jared Winter 3-5-4-12; FSS: Zach Sandy 16-5-10-31

1/3: Members of the Fargo Davies boys hockey team celebrate a first period goal against Fargo South-Shanley during the N.D. East Region boys hockey tournament semifinals Friday night at Fido Purpur Arena. Nick Nelson / Grand Forks Herald

2/3: Davies defenseman Isaac Balvitsch is wedged between Fargo South-Shanley's Alex Senf (18) and Drew Sandy (17) in the first period of Friday's East Region semifinals hockey game in Grand Forks. Nick Nelson / Grand Forks Herald

3/3: Fargo South-Shanley defenseman Carson Dean (20) and Fargo Davies' Conner Turnquist fight for the puck during Friday's East Region tournament semifinals hockey game in Grand Forks. Nick Nelson / Grand Forks Herald

1/3: Members of the Fargo Davies boys hockey team celebrate a first period goal against Fargo South-Shanley during the N.D. East Region boys hockey tournament semifinals Friday night at Fido Purpur Arena. Nick Nelson / Grand Forks Herald

2/3: Davies defenseman Isaac Balvitsch is wedged between Fargo South-Shanley's Alex Senf (18) and Drew Sandy (17) in the first period of Friday's East Region semifinals hockey game in Grand Forks. Nick Nelson / Grand Forks Herald

3/3: Fargo South-Shanley defenseman Carson Dean (20) and Fargo Davies' Conner Turnquist fight for the puck during Friday's East Region tournament semifinals hockey game in Grand Forks. Nick Nelson / Grand Forks Herald