How Moorhead won the Class 2A boys hockey title in double overtime over Minnetonka
The Spuds won their second big-school championship in a row, rallying from three goals down in the third period to do so.
By Jim Paulsen
The Minnesota Star Tribune
Teammates and roomies, Moorhead juniors Drew Simonich and Evan Wanner were talking after Team USA won the gold medal in both men and women’s hockey at the recently completed Milan Cortina Olympics.
“I asked Evan what he would do if he ever scored an overtime goal to win it all like that,” Simonich said. “We literally said, ‘I would throw everything into the stands.’ ”
On Saturday, March 7, Wanner got the opportunity he’d always dreamed about. He snapped a wrist shot past Minnetonka goalie Chase Jerdee at 10:36 of the second overtime to lift Moorhead to a 5-4 victory and their second consecutive Class 2A state championship at Grand Casino Arena.
After he scored to complete a comeback from a three-goal deficit in the third period, Wanner launched his helmet into the Moorhead rooting section.
“I found a way to shoot it through [the Minnetonka defense] and it went in,” Wanner said. “It was a pretty good shot. I kind of blacked out after that.”
Moorhead sophomore Drew Kortan admitted he was thinking about an overtime winner.
“Throwing the helmet into the stands was one of my goals,” Wanner laughed.
Minnetonka set the tone for the game early, scoring a power-play goal less than three minutes into the first period, leading to a commanding 3-0 lead entering the first intermission.
Moorhead (26-3-1) started the game aggressively, looking to put pressure on the Skippers from the outset, but Kortan was whistled for cross-checking at 1:15 of the first period.
Minnetonka (26-3-2) wasted little time taking advantage of the miscue, scoring when Jordan Johnson one-timed a cross-ice pass from Danny Browning past Moorhead goalie Will Arnold at 2:45.
Minnetonka expanded the lead to 2-0 when senior Ethan Sturgis, a Dartmouth commit, drove the net and swept in a shot past Arnold. The Skippers made it 3-0 barely four minutes later when Cash Hardie whistled a wrist shot past Arnold.
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Both teams scored in the second period, and the Skippers’ three-goal margin carried into the third.
Then Moorhead sophomore Joey Cullen knocked in a puck while standing near the crease, making the score 4-2.
Spuds senior Zac Zimmerman added to his trove of big state-tournament goals, scoring twice in the third period to tie the score at 4-4 and send the game into overtime. Zimmerman’s second goal came with 35 seconds remaining in regulation and the Moorhead net empty.
Neither team mounted much of a threat in the first OT, leading to the dramatic conclusion in the second extra session. The Minnetonka faithful roared when the Skippers had a puck knocked into the net, but it occurred after the whistle had blown.
Moorhead coach Jon Ammerman couldn’t say enough about his team’s resiliency.
“I’m just super proud and impressed with how they didn’t give up,” Ammerman said. “It would have been easy to pack it in, right? It was a tough start, no doubt about that. But there was never a moment of doubt on the bench. These are incredible hockey players.”
For the record, Wanner’s helmet was returned to him by a helpful Spuds fan.
About the Author
Jim Paulsen
Reporter
Jim Paulsen is a high school sports reporter for the Minnesota Star Tribune.
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