As is usual when these two teams meet, the action was close, quick, and played at a high tempo.  USM score the game’s first two goals.  The first came late in the first period.    On a power play, senior defenseman Zach Hafeman passed the puck from the USM zone to senior Simon Leahy, skating into center ice.  Leahy moved down the ice keeping his eyes open for trailing teammates.  Leahy skated backwards across the Cardinals’ blue line and saw junior Corey Roadhouse flying down the slot.  Leahy zinged his pass as Roadhouse neared the crease, and Roadhouse bopped it past Fond du Lac’s senior goalie Joe Rebedew at 14:20.

 

USM made it 2-0 early in the second period.  In the Fond du Lac zone, Roadhouse sent the puck to sophomore Ryan Revolinski at the point.  Revolinski threaded a shot through two Cardinal defenders that hit Rebedew’s pads.  The rebound went out to Leahy, and like he was installing a satellite dish, Leahy roofed it at 3:37.

 

Fond du Lac tied it up by scoring 2 goals on odd-man breaks during the second period.   The first came at 8:21.  Freshman Alex Graf got the puck in the Fond du Lac end and began skating it out.  He avoided a stick check by a USM defenseman at the USM blue line and forwarded the puck to sophomore Ty Rebedew in center ice.  Rebedew and junior Keegan Acheson moved into the USM end on a 2 on 1 rush.  As he neared the bottom of the right circle, Rebedew slipped the puck across to Acheson and Acheson immediately gunned it past USM’s senior goalkeeper Ben Myers.

 

Fond du Lac tied the game late in the period.  As two USM players went down to their knees to play the puck near the blue line, Graf got it and passed it to Acheson as they went into center ice on a 2 on 1.  As they moved in, the USM defender fell. Now on a 2 on 0, Acheson headed straight to the net..  He fired it from the low left side and beat Myers cleanly at 13:59.

 

In the third period and in the resulting overtime no further goals were scored.  Both teams tightened their defenses and looked for scoring opportunities.  None came thanks to the polished work of the veteran goaltenders.  Rebedew and Myers stopped everything shot at them in the final 25 minutes.  During that span Myers made 10 saves and Rebedew made 15 to keep the game deadlocked.

 

Overall in the game Rebedew made 30 saves while Myers stopped 23.

 

Fond du Lac is now 1-1-1.  The Cardinals next face the Appleton United Co-op on Tuesday, December 7th.  USM’s record is presently 2-3-1.  The Wildcats travel to Wausau for a game against D.C. Everest Friday, December 3rd  at 7:00 p.m.