Team Wisconsin got two goals from Jesse Tredinnick and a solid outing in net by Nate Eminger as the two squads fought to a 3-3 tie Saturday morning in the Minnesota NIT held at the Plymouth Ice Center.

Things didn't start out so well for TW when Michigan scored just over a minute into the contest.

Derek Makimaa took a shot from outside and Ben Storm re-directed it past Eminger to make it 1-0 for the bad guys just 1:13 into the game. 

It looked like the period would end at 1-0, despite three total power play chances in the middle of the period--two for TW, and one for Michigan.

But with ten seconds left, Drew Otto fired a backdoor pass to Keaton Bronston and he didn't disappoint, tapping the puck past Michigan goalie Spencer Craig to tie the game with the dreaded last-minute goal.

TW outshot Michigan 10-6 in the period.

The two teams would score once each in the next period, just 30 seconds apart.

First, Michigan's Stefan Trentacosta grabbed a loose puck behind the net and faked for a far side wrap. When Eminger made a move toward the far post, Trentacosta snuck it in on the near side to make it 2-1 at the 7:55 mark.

Tredinnick tallied the equalizer just a half-minute later with assists from Jason Ford and Kyle Lee.

"We (Ford, Lee, and Tredinnick) were linemates on the before-and-after team, and we were able to reconnect in this tournament and really start to play well together again," said Tredinnick.

The period ended with that 2-2 score, despite 30 shots taken by the teams in the period--16 by Michigan and 14 by Team Wisconsin. 

Michigan once again scored early in the period to start the third and in the process took a 3-2 advantage.

Less than two minutes in, Eminger found himself scrambling after making a couple saves. Unfortunately the rebound was put back in by Mackenzie MacEachern from the low right side before the TW goalie could right himself to stop the tap-in.

Just over a minute later, TW took a penalty and went to work on the kill.

Tredinnick took advantage of a Michigan turnover and moved in on the Michigan goalie before deking him and slipping the puck between the left post and the arm of Craig to knot the contest at three.

"Jesse is not flashy on the ice, but once (coaches or scouts) watch him two-three times, they really like him," said TW (and Onalaska) coach Tim Ebner. "They know he has the ability and that he can play."

Despite outshooting TW 13-6 in the period, Michigan could not score again and the game ended with the tie in pool play competition.

Eminger stopped 32 shots in a fine effort, while Craig was solid as well for Michigan with 27 saves.

TW will either play at 8:30am or 10:45am Sunday, depending on the outcome of the MN Seniors-Michigan game to be played Saturday evening.  

"A win tomorrow would really help to end this on a high note," said Ebner. "We need to play with energy and passion, and it really needs to mean something to the players."