Blue Beats Green 5-4 in Double OT Championship Thriller

Blue Beats Green 5-4 in Double OT Championship Thriller

What an incredible end to another great season of MDHL hockey – a double OT championship game between the top two teams from the regular season.

In their semifinal games, Green outlasted Orange in an exciting 3-2 OT victory, and Blue topped Black 7-3 in a back-and-forth game that was closer than the score indicated.
To start the championship game, Green picked up right where they left off the last time they played Blue and handled them easily 9-1 in one of the most lopsided games of the season. 

This time around, it took less than five minutes for Green to go up 3-0.  Blue wasn’t ready to play, and the well-coached, opportunistic Green team took full advantage, peppering Blue’s goalie Grant Neuhardt with a barrage of point-blank shots and prime scoring opportunities.  Hayden Zimmerman kicked off the scoring 21 seconds into the game, followed by a Cole Dixon goal only a little over a minute later.  Less than three minutes after that, Trent Benedict found the back of the net, capping off an incredible start and forcing Blue to call a timeout to regroup.

Blue found some life just three minutes later, with Landon West working his way to the crease from the behind the goal line and stuffing the puck in the net to cut Green’s led to 3-1, where the first period would end.
Green extended their lead to 4-1 less than three minutes into the second period, with Cole Dixon picking up his second goal of the game.  Blue’s Devin McIntyre, who was flying around the ice all night, cut the deficit to 4-2 halfway through the second, where the score would stay until Ryan Beckmon put a wobbling puck past Green’s Carter Dethloff with ten minutes remaining in the third. 

From there, Blue continued to carry the play and generate chances, and with just a little under six and a half minutes remaining in regulation, Blue’s Nick Condon sent a high flip through the neutral zone where McIntyre picked it up and skated behind Green’s defense, netting his second of the night to tie the game 4-4.   

In the first OT, Green totally carried the play, with Zimmerman, Aaron Ackerson, Trent Benedict, and Jack Reelman working their way around the O-zone and generating numerous prime scoring chances.  Blue’s goalie Andre Genereux was up to the challenge, and Green couldn’t connect on a beautiful backdoor play setup by Zimmerman.  With Blue unable to generate much offense, another OT would be needed to decide the championship.

The second extra frame picked up where the first left off, with Green continuing to control the puck and generate chances.  However, with 3:30 remaining, Blue’s James Sigmon picked up a puck in his own zone and used his speed to generate a quick 2 on 1.  Sigmon fired a shot low blocker side that Dethloff wasn’t able to cleanly handle, and West picked up the rebound, pulled the puck into a shooting position, and buried it top-shelf, netting his second of the game and securing the championship for Blue.

Both teams left it all on the ice and showed why they both deserved to be in the finals. 
Congratulations to Blue on a hard-fought, comeback victory!