Ellie Horner is a big reason why Bismarck Century is a win away from state title

FARGO — When Bismarck junior goaltender Kambree Grabar went down with an injury earlier this season, sophomore Ellie Horner stood up to take her place.

Now eighth-seeded Bismarck Century is taking its place as a state finalist for Saturday’s championship game with two-time defending state champion Fargo North/South at Scheels Arena.

Horner stopped 40 shots in Friday’s semifinal 4-1 victory over Grand Forks, including a wild five-minute span at the end. The Knightriders, down 3-1, were on the power play and later pulled goaltender Leah Bensley for the extra attacker — yet Horner stood tall.

Big-time game. Big-time moment.

Horner stands not much higher than the net itself. “It’s what I’m listed,” she said. “I’m 4-11 without skates.”

But there’s no bigger success story at the state tournament, as Horner has allowed just two goals so far.

“What she’s been able to do is amazing,” said Patriots head coach Tim Meyer. “We’ve always had confidence in her and for her to be rewarded like this is just awesome.”

Meyer said Horner has the ability to take advantage of her angles and will get to the top of the paint when necessary.

“That’s why I like to stay on my feet as much as I can, or I get if it’s really close in, to cover that,” Horner said. “I like to come out and be aggressive and have some depth so I can take up as much space as I can.”

Horner stopped 15 of 16 shots in the first period alone, only allowing Mya Mannausau’s goal at 9:42 in the opening frame.

Century sophomore Lily Kuennen broke a 1-1 tie with a goal at 4:26 of the second period. Horner still faced nearly two dozen more shots, but taking that lead provided a huge boost.

“We got the energy,” Horner said of her team adding that goal. “We just got to keep on pushing and that we could actually do this.”

Horner stopped all 24 shots she saw in the last two periods, including shutting down three power play opportunities by Grand Forks.

“I had so much adrenaline rushing through my body like I was like, ‘OK, we just go shift by shift and make sure that we’re on top of the puck and make sure that Ellie’s protected,” senior defenseman Alivia Frykman said.

During the regular season and sharing the net with Grabar, Horner went 0-5-1. Since taking the net, she’s 3-1-2, and has two state wins to her credit. It was the 4-1 loss earlier this season to Grand Forks when Horner came on in relief of Grabar.

Now Century (11-13-0) is one win away from a state championship.

“It’s amazing,” Frykman said. “We came in as an eighth seed and nobody expected us to get to this point. I think it’s just like an amazing moment that it just feels surreal. Like it’s crazy.”

“It’s just insane,” Horner added when asked about playing for the title. “I think we’ll all prepare for it the same way as every game. Just stay focused, have energy, play hard and have some fun.”

Meyer, in his 10th season as head coach, is aiming for his seventh state title (mostly with the former Bismarck Blizzard) on Saturday night.

“I mean we’re playing well at the right time,” he said. “I think that’s kind of the message that we had for the group that the goal of the regular season was qualify for state. And once you get there, you can kind of erase all the other numbers right? The records don’t matter anymore. The point totals don’t matter anymore. It’s just all about who shows up for 51 minutes. I’m so proud of our group.”