Tanner Gould scored the only goal of the game, short-handed and in overtime, as the Wausau West Warriors claimed sole possession of first place in the Wisconsin Valley Conference by defeating the SPASH Panthers Tuesday night at Marathon park.

Defense and goaltending were at a premium for the first 51 minutes, with Sam Wiegert in net for Wausau West, and Nathan Sicolovan between the pipes for SPASH. But they couldn't do it alone, and they each got plenty of help from their defensemen. Max Tatro, Wyatt Dalsbo, Mason Czaikowski, and Matt Hoyt provided staunch support for Sicolovan. While Sheldon Oja, Thomas Brown, John Metzinger, and Adam Parsells stood up in front of Wiegert.

After two periods of play, only 14 shots had reached Siclovan and 11 made it as far as Wiegert. Most of those shots was either deflected to a corner or smothered. The rare puck that was left in front for a rebound opportunity was immediately cleared by the defense. It wasn't until late in the third period that the Warriors were able to get two rebound shots on net, and then they were smothered.

In the third period, West turned up the pressure right from the opening faceoff. SPASH had two seconds of penalty left to kill and the Warriors took advantage of the opportunity, with Gould and Marshall Oja coming in on a 2 on 1. Gould made a perfect pass to Oja, who got off a quick shot, but Siclovan moved across the crease to deny him.

Wausau put 14 shots on net in the third, including an opportunity by Kevin Conley, when he split the Panthers defensemen. But he had to push the puck too far in front of him to get by the D, at which point Siclovan came out of the net and poke-checked the puck off his stick. So after 51 minutes, it was still a scoreless game.

At 2:39 in the overtime, Sheldon Oja drew a tripping call, giving the Panthers a powerplay chance. With the faceoff to Wiegert's left, SPASH won the draw back toward the point, but Gould got to the puck first. He cut toward the right boards but was cut off by a Panther defenseman at the blue line. Gould spun and got past him and advanced up the boards to the SPASH blue line, where he did the same thing to the other defenseman. Suddenly it was Tanner Gould in alone on Nathan Siclovan. Gould came in deep, driving Siclovan back into his crease, then fired a shot up on the glove side. Siclovan got a piece of the puck, but not a big enough piece to keep it out of the net.

The win improves Wausau West to 5-0 in the WVC, while SPASH drops to 3-1. The two teams will meet again in the final regular season game on February 7 at KB Willet Arena in Stevens Point.