Brady Bollinger had a goal and three assists, Jacob Bresser scored twice, and goalie Alex Geving did an outstanding job in net as Eau Claire Memorial defeated Superior 5-3 in Friday's late semi-final contest at the Alliant Energy Center.
The Old Abes got on the scoreboard first in the final minute of first period play. Tye McLaughlin scored from the high slot with an assist to Bollinger with 42 seconds left in the period. Shots were 9-5 in favor of ECM.
Superior tied the game just over three minutes into the second on a power play goal. Daniel Burger scored his first of two goals on a shot from the high slot, with assists to Aaron Wakefield-Zubiate and Jesse Polson.
The Abes went ahead 2-1 four minutes later on a power play of their own.
Chuck Bennis directed a pass from the right side to the low left where Dylan Ross connected on a nice back-door goal at 8:56. Bollinger earned an assist on the play.
Midway through the period came the first of two penalty shots. An ECM player was penalized for tripping and the refs awarded Superior a penalty shot. Tyler Nystrom attempted the shot and tried to pick the upper right corner, but his shot flew just wide and clanked harmlessly off the glass.
Less than three minutes later, another penalty try was given to Burger, but his attempt through the five-hole bounced off the left post.
Superior began another power play a minute later, but failed to score as Geving made two saves and another shot bounced off the crossbar near the end of the man-advantage.
The Old Abes fattened the lead to 3-1 with another late period goal. With just 1:35 left, Bresser scored off a nice pass from Charley Graaskamp and beat goalie Paxton Paine on the glove side. Bollinger earned his playmaker on the score. The Spartans held a huge 15-6 shot margin the period, yet lost ground on the scoreboard.
The goals came fast and furious in the final stanza, with each team scoring twice in the first seven minutes.