Things that went really well for Minot that year:
-Tournament in Fargo.
-Devils Lake beating Red River at EDC although they got outshot by like 25 shots. Minot avoided RR or Central first round.
-As previously mentioned.....unreal goaltending. 98 shots-95 Saves
-Fargo South Shanley kid taking a five minute major in the third period with them up 1-0 in the semifinals. Minot scored twice on that power play, tacks on empty netter, wins 3-1.
-Central absolutely rolling through Bismarck High in the other semifinals. Think they thought that was the title game.
You are right, Minot has sent much better teams to the state tournament, but that team found a way to win three 2-1 games in three days.