Elk River defenseman Logan Gacke makes some room away from Grand Rapids forward Eric Soderberg in a 6-2 victory for Elk River. Photo by Rick Orndorf

Junior forward Jensen Zerban scored twice Saturday night in Elk River's 6-2 win over Grand Rapids on Day 3 of the Edina Holiday Classic at Braemar Ice Arena.

His performance was a boon for an Elks offense that had been struggling.

Elk River junior forward Jax Murray, who sat out Saturday with a shoulder separation, said he was frustrated after watching from the bench as his team get shut out by Edina 4-0 in the tournament on Friday.

At the start of the game, it appeared that things might be headed in the same direction for the Elks, ranked No. 13 in the Class 2A coaches' poll.

Senior forward Jason Koehn put the Thunderhawks on the board first when his shot redirected off the post and into the net less than five minutes into the opening period.

But with 1:41 to play, Elk River junior forward Kyle Bouten pushed the puck on net, and after hitting a skate, the post and the goalie's pads, it bounced in to tie the game 1-1. 

The Elks regained momentum with back-to-back goals in the second period's final minute. Zerban scored the last one on a shot that rocketed in with seven seconds remaining to give his team a 3-1 lead.

“Our top goal scorers produced tonight,” Elk River coach Gordie Roberts said.

The Elks found themselves down a man in the third period after Alex Adams sent Taiyo Larson into the boards. Larson did not return to the game while Adams received a five-minute major penalty and was disqualified from the game.

The incident was a good reminder of how important safety has become in high school hockey, Roberts said.

“Along the boards, you have to have respect for your opponent,” he added. “There’s nothing wrong with good hard checks, but we don’t want to see anyone - after Jack Jablonski - to get hurt like that.”

Jablonski was paralyzed from the chest down after being hit from behind in a game in December 2011, his sophomore season at Benilde-St. Margaret's.

Having Larson out only fueled Elk River's offensive aggression.

Nick Perbix netted a goal on the five-minute major power play while his brother Nick pushed one in to extend the lead to 5-1 midway through the third.

One minute later, Zerban sealed the game with his second goal as junior defenseman Benton Maass earned the assist, his second of the night.

Sophomore Gavin Hain scored late in the period for No. 6-2A Grand Rapids.

Recording a win after a three-game losing streak was a good character-building experience, Roberts said.

“December is a challenging month, we don’t have Mr. Hockey (Jake Jaremko) in our dressing room anymore," he added. "Every year there’s a new story, and our kids are just starting to unfold.”

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