It was the game that high school hockey fans were waiting for.
Fifth-ranked Verona (10-1) and top-ranked Notre Dame Academy (9-0) faced off in the championship game of the 10th annual Showdown in Titletown Saturday evening at the Cornerstone Community Center.
Verona had won eight straight contests, including a 4-1 win over #2 Wausau West in the semifinals on Friday. NDA, of course, had nine consecutive wins in hand.
But it was Verona that set the tone, scoring less than three minutes in to take a lead they never relinquished en route to a 3-1 win over the Tritons for the Showdown crown, the first for the Wildcats.
The pace was frenetic and the hitting was kinetic almost from the get-go and it took a couple minutes for that energy to translate into a score.
Nathan Jurrens fired a shot through traffic that beat NDA goalie Bo Buckley for an early 1-0 lead. Walker Haessig got an assist on the play.
"I don't know if that (early score) shocked them," said Verona coach Joel Marshall. "We got them on their heels."
The Wildcats had a couple good chances to increase the lead early on, but came away with zip, zero, nada when Keegan Lindell's shot went bar-up instead of bar-down, and then Cale Rufenacht missed connections on a pass during a 2-on-1 break.
The last nine minutes of the period was mostly special teams as three penalties were called. Notre Dame had 38 seconds of 5-on-3 action, but couldn't convert.
"We got into some penalty trouble there, which gave them some momentum, but we were able to weather the storm," noted Marshall.
Buckley had 11 saves in the 1-0 period, while Verona's Kaden Grant stopped four shots.
The second period took over where the opening stanza left off, with aggressive play and three power plays, but as in the first, there was no joy in Mudville for the team with the man-advantage.
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Verona Coach Joel Marshall post-game
Then came the 'Muffin Man' play.
Freshmen Conrad Moline and Reece Cordray teamed up for a goal that Buckley would love to have another chance at.
Cordray 'fired' a shot from the slot that deflected off a stick or a body, slowing it down enough and causing a knuckling effect that fooled the ND goalie, much like a 68 mph change-up makes a major league hitter look confused.
"It was a little goofy goal, but a huge momentum swing for us," stated Marshall.
2-0 Verona, with just over five minutes left in the middle period, and that's how the stanza would end. Grant had seven saves, while Buckley stopped eight of nine.
That set up a final 17 minutes of speed, hitting, and an 'almost' comeback by Notre Dame.
After the Tritons failed to convert on an early power play, Charlie Wied took matters into his own hands and cut the lead to 2-1.
The senior forward flew down the right side and ripped a shot from the top of the right circle that beat Grant high on the glove side. Eli Canadeo got a helper on the play with just under 12 minutes to go.
But the comeback was not to be as Rufenacht earned an assist on a nice backdoor pass on a 2-on-1 with Haessig the recipient. The goal made it 3-1 at the 10:39 mark.
The Tritons had a power play but couldn't score and then took a time-out with 1:45 left to set up strategy. Buckley stayed off in favor of the extra skater, but NDA could not put the puck past Grant, who ended with 13 stops in the hectic final period and 24 in the game. Buckley made eight saves for a game total of 27.
"(The last couple minutes) was intense, but our guys were cool and calm," said Marshall. "The confidence we have in Kaden Grant...we think he is the best in the state."
So, a huge win for Verona. What will it do to next week's WiPH rankings?
Time will tell.
