Tetons Triumph in Overtime Thriller

For the third year in a row, the Williston State Tetons faced off against the Montana State Bobcats in front of a packed house on Feb. 21 at the Valley Event Center. The college club event promised an exciting night of hockey action and did not disappoint. Fans got more than their money's worth with the Tetons' overtime win.

Starting for the visiting Bobcats were hometown boys Ryan Padden, left wing, and Taylor Padden, right wing. Lucas Soalnik was starting center, Patrick Healy was in net for MSU and Kody Thomas and Sam Coulter were the starting defensemen. For the Tetons, Carson Arndt was the left wing starter and Sylan Borseth was in at right wing. Blake Zabinski was the starting center, Thomas King and Campbell Jackson were the defensemen and Brady Klassen was between the pipes.

Williston State won the first faceoff and almost immediately turned the puck over to Montana State University, in what turned out to be a harbinger of how the first period would go for the "home" team Tetons.

Bobcat Jack Coon took the first seat in the penalty box on a hooking call at 14:26. MSU was on the kill for a minute and one second before Teton Wade Auger was sent to the sin bin on a slashing call, setting up a 4-on-4 for 59 seconds. Both sides managed to kill their penalties, leading to faster action after some sloppy puck handling to start the game.

MSU's Britt Courneya would net a top shelf goal, assisted by Nick Stellmack, with 8:47 left in the first. Courneya's goal would stand as the only one in the first period, despite several power play opportunities. WS's Jake Husta would take a seat at 7:03 for tripping and teammate Trevor Lowney was called for slashing with 3:30 left in the first.

Teton Brendan Jay and Bobcat Karston Kleiner were called for matching roughing calls with 1:37 on the clock, with both players released 29 seconds into the second period. Teton penalties contributed to their being outshot 13-4 in the first period.

Second period action kicked off quickly when MSU's Jim Seielstad was sent to the box 1:31 into play for roughing. WS made short work of their man advantage, netting a goal six seconds into their power play. Dylan Borseth was credited with the tying goal, assisted by Eric Colstrup and Jay.

Teton Huska was sent to the box for holding three minutes later. His teammates' defense came through for fresh goalie, Jimmy Grosklaus, killing the power play for WS. With 11:44 left before the second intermission, the Tetons would snag the lead on a goal from Aden Merk, assisted by Taylor Elsbernd. Zabinkski was called for slashing with 6:07 left to play, but MSU failed to score on their man advantage, despite controlling the puck for most of the two minutes.

The second period would end with WS in control, 2-1. Grosklaus faced 11 shots and Josh Hubert, in net for MSU, faced 12 shots in the second period.

The Bobcats staged a comeback in the third period, winning the opening face off and taking the lead for a period of time. The Tetons were first in the penalty box though, when Huska served two minutes for tripping.

At 15:22, Bobcat Courneya tied the game at two on a weak-side rebound shot. Teton Merk took a seat in the sin bin at 14:31 for tripping. A five-minute checking from behind and misconduct call at 14:19 sent Teton Jay to the locker room, ejected from the game. Grant Epple took advantage of the Merk penalty, netting the power-play goal at 13:03 with the two-man advantage to give his team the 3-2 lead.

Then it was MSU's turn to visit the sin bin. Jack Coon went first for high sticking at 10:58. R. Padden followed at 8:11 for slashing, and Josiah Pilskalns last at 5:11 on an interference call. The Bobcats' defense came through on each penalty, denying the Tetons a goal each time. Connor Stefan narrowly missed a breakaway short-handed goal, sending the puck dinging off the crossbar during the Pilskalns penalty.

The Tetons were not done with the fight though. Huska, assisted by Colstrup and Zabinski, kept WS in the game, finding the back of the net with 2:44 left in the third. A Teton shot right at the buzzer hit Bobcat goalie Hubert dead center in the chest pads, sending the game to a 4-on-4, sudden death overtime.

With an extra five minutes on the clock, WS won the first overtime face off before MSU took over. Teton Jackson was sent to the penalty box 36 seconds in on a slashing call, giving the Bobcats a 4-on-3 power play. After a faceoff in their end, the Tetons snagged the puck for a 2-on-1 breakaway attempt that went off Hubert's pads. Racing back to the other end, the Bobcats fired a shot which Klassen covered. The Tetons killed off the Jackson penalty and the back and forth action continued.

With just over a minute and a half left in overtime, Teton Auger broke away from the crowd, and took off alone towards Hubert. He sent the puck flying, netting a top shelf goal against Hubert to win the game 4-3 for Williston.

Each team registered 15 shots in the third period. MSU added two in overtime, bringing their game total to 41. WS had three shots in overtime giving them a game total of 34 attempts.