Overtime Thriller

Having come down with my first cold of this young winter season, I decided to have a relaxing night, and take in a video feed of the NCHA conference opener between UW-Superior and UW-Stout.

Needless to say, it turned out to be a great decision to sit in front of the computer and watch this game, as both clubs played an exceptionally well in a contest that ended in a 1-0 overtime victory for Superior.

The first period between these two teams was very even as both teams battled in what turned out to be a back-and-forth affair. Both teams seemed to be feeling each other out, and it proved to be a back and forth affair with lots of puck dumping, and back checking teams.

The second period proved to be more of the same, as both Superior and Stout traded powerplays/penalty killing duties, while both trying to get the game's first goal...which did not happen. Through two periods, both teams played pretty even, although I'd have to have given a slight advantage to Superior, as they were up 24-18 in shots on goal.

In the third period, with about 15:00 left you began to get the feeling that it was going to be a one goal game. You could just feel the tension rising, as both teams realized that the team that scored first would most likely win the game. This resulted in the closing minutes being very closely contested and both teams were playing defensive hockey and not taking any chances at all.

In overtime however, it seemed like things opened up a little bit, as both Stout and Superior were trying to get the winning goal. This resulted in a breakaway 2 on 1 for Super about halfway through the OT period, and Logan Isley got a pass from Eric Bausano and put it past Stout goalie Matt Koenig for the game-winner.

In looking back at this game, I will say that this game was huge for Superior. Being 1-1-3 coming into this game having played some questionable hockey games, many people wondered what kind of team would hit the ice come NCHA conference play. After this 1-0 nail biter, the critics have been put to sleep, as UWS showed that they will definitely be a team to be reckoned with in the NCHA this year and beat the previously unbeaten Stout Blue Devils. I was personally impressed with their speed on both ends of the rink, as they were the "fast-paced" team that many people said they were. Also Chad Beisswenger played a great game in net for UWS. Luckily he showed up because the Superior offense did not.

When looking at UW-Stout, I feel they should not hang their heads over this game. They played a great hockey game, and look to be a pretty good team. Their goalie Matt Koenig played one hell of a game and kept them in it, and they skated well with a team that was much faster on the ice than they were.

Hats off to both teams for a great effort!

Three Stars of the Game:

In determining the three stars of this game in my mind, I did not have to look far as this one seemed to be a no-brainer. Isley, Koenig and Beiswenger...enough said.

1st Star - Logan Isley (UWS) - GWG
2nd Star - Matt Koenig (Stout) - 39 saves
3rd Star - Chad Beiswenger (UWS) - 27 saves, shutout

Goals at a Premium:

After this game ended, I did some research and found that found that since the 2000-01 NCHA season, looking in both conference/non-conference games for teams in the NCHA, there have been seven games where the final was a 1-0 margin, and one game that ended in a 0-0 tie :

November 15, 2007 - Superior beat Stout 1-0
Novemeber 3, 2007 - Eau Claire beat St. Johns 1-0
December 9, 2005 - Scholastica beat Stout 1-0
January 23, 2004 - Stout beat Superior 1-0
March 20, 2004 - Middlebury beat St. Norbert 1-0
November 8, 2002 - Superior beat Stout 1-0
November 9, 2002 - River Falls tied Superior 0-0
December 8, 2001 - Stevens Point beat Gustavus 1-0

Quick Game Stats & Game Recap:

http://www.collegehockeystats.net/0708/boxes/mwsrwst1.n15
http://www.uwstout.edu/athletics/hockey/hocgame.htm#2007november15