NOVEMBER 21, 2016 - The Steele County Blades played in three games this weekend, opening at home against the Chicago Cougars before heading to Forest Lake Lakers for a two game series. Friday night’s contest marked the third time in a row the Blades faced off against the Cougars.
The Cougars gave Luke Martinovich the start in net while the Blades started Mike Severson. The Blades wasted no time testing Martinovich, posting 24 shots on goal in the first period alone. Martinovich closed the door early and often, not allowing a single goal in the first period. Severson was 15 seconds shy of matching Martinovich’s perfect period before Zachary Bishop opened the scoring for the game on an even strength tally. The Cougars would end the period with nine shots and a 1-0 lead over the Blades.
The second period started with the Cougars finding the back of the net with an even strength goal coming from Grigory Mironovich at 7:46. Five minutes later, Soren Colstrup found Clayton Huss open in the slot before Huss buried a wrist shot past Martinovich. In his first game back with the Blades for his third season, Huss’ shot cut the Blades deficit in half. The Cougars rallied right back, scoring just two minutes later to give them a 3-1 lead. The flurry of offense was not over just yet as Soren Colstrup was the beneficiary of a Blades power play just over a minute later. The second period saw four goals, three of which came in a span of 3:15.
The Cougars would head into the final frame of regulation with a 3-2 lead. The third period showcased much tighter defensive play in both ends before Chase Wedding sprung Blades forward Griffin Waters on a breakaway. Waters beat the Cougars goaltender with a backhand shot through the five-hole to tie the game at a score of 3-3. The game tying tally was Waters’ third goal of the season. The remaining sixteen minutes remained scoreless as sixty minutes of hockey was not enough to decide a winner. However, the Cougars would prevail in the overtime period when Zeberiah Scheffler slammed home a rebound on the power play. Each goalie posted impressive numbers as Martinovich and Severson made 50 and 38 saves respectively.
The second game of the weekend showcased the Blades and the Lakers play for the first time this season. A slow start yielded a very lopsided effort in favor of the Lakers. Goaltender Tim Grounds kept the Blades in the game early, making a number of impressive saves. The Blades were given some breathing room, when defensemen Tristan Klewsaat scored his second goal of the year on a shot from the the blue line. The Blades were fortunate to escape the first period up 1-0.
A similar theme from Friday night’s second period reappeared in Saturday's middle period. Clayton Huss continued his welcome back party when he redirected a shot from Soren Colstrup to the back of the net. Momentum was hard to come by as the score went back and forth. The Lakers' Sebastian Frank scored the first Lakers’ goal of the night to bring the score within one. Chase Wedding took a shot from the point that missed the net wide and found Kyle Wadden sitting on the back door. Wadden took advantage of a very fortuitous bounce on the power play to give the Blades a 3-1 lead. Once again, the Lakers responded before Oskari Valli gave the Blades a 4-2 lead. The Lakers would add another before the end of the 2nd period, giving the Blades a 4-3 lead heading into the 3rd period.
Steele County would quickly establish momentum in the 3rd and add on to their lead when Chase Wedding jumped up into the play, creating an odd man rush. Wedding unleashed a one timer after a perfectly timed assist from Soren Colstrup. Kyle Wadden and Christian Leeb would add insurance goals to give the Blades a 7-3 win.
The weekend finale posted a very fast and uneventful first period as neither team established dominance. Garrett Medina started the scoring for the evening on a second period even strength tally to give the Lakers a 1-0 lead. Shortly after that, Clayton Huss scored his third goal in his third game of the year with a power play wrist shot from the point. The Lakers, not to be outdone, added another second period goal when Brian Oare beat Blades goaltender Nick Mizen, for his second goal against on the evening.
The Lakers’ could not protect the 2-1 lead for long when two minutes into the third period, Blades’ center, Kyle Wadden scored his 12th goal of the year. For nearly eighteen more minutes of regulation, each goalie remained perfect as the game would head into overtime. All it took was twenty seconds of overtime to decide a winner. After a defensive zone break down, Clayton Huss cleared the puck to Soren Colstrup, who finished off a breakway to give the Blades a 3-2 win. It was Colstrup’s 12th goal of the season, marking his fifth game winning goal of the season. Blades Mizen had an impressive game in his second start of the season, collecting 38 saves on the evening, each one more important than his last.
“It felt great to be back out on the ice with the guys," said Clayton Huss. "We played hard and has some minor mental lapses, but I think we looked pretty good overall. It definitely helps when we have every line contributing like we did this weekend, as well as some of our defensemen picking up some goals.”
The Blades ended the weekend with five out of a possible six points, moving into 4th place in the standings.
The Blades play next at home, hosting the Lakers Saturday night and Sunday afternoon at Four Seasons Centre.
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