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Verona edges Notre Dame for second straight year

By Michael Trzinski, 03/07/14, 8:15PM CST

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Jones steals the show for Wildcats with 36 save performance

It's like deja vu all over again.

Last year, Verona and Notre Dame met in the state semifinals and the Wildcats upset the top-ranked Tritons 5-2 before falling to eventual state champ Eau Claire Memorial.

Fast forward one year and the top-ranked Tritons and Wildcats met in the semifinals once again.

And just like last year, Verona found a way to beat the Tritons as they edged Notre Dame 1-0 in an exciting state semifinal Friday evening.

This year Verona got on the board when Charlie Parker sniped a shot from the high slot that beat NDA goalie Aaron Campbell at the 11:09 mark, with an assist to Jack Anderson.

Verona had two power play chances and NDA had one, but neither team converted and Verona skated off with a 1-0 lead after one. Shots were 13-5 in favor of Verona in the period.

It appeared that NDA tied the game midway through the second period when Jett Jaraczewski fired the puck on net and raised his right arm in triumph, but the red goal light did not go on and play continued. 

Forty-five seconds later, Verona's Philippe Fromberger ripped a shot from the left point that snicked off the left post and went behind the net.

A bit later Brett Gruber snapped a shot from the high slot that overflew the net and kept the score at 1-0. Shots were 12-6 in favor of Notre Dame.

The third period saw no scoring but tons of action as Campbell and Verona's Alex Jones swapped spectacular saves. Campbell came off with just under two minutes left for an extra attacker but the Tritons were unable to earn the equalizer as the Wildcats began a wild celebration as time expired.

Notre Dame (27-2) outshot Verona by a huge margin of 19-5 in the third period.

Jones stopped 36 shots for Verona (25-2-2), while Campbell played outstanding as well for NDA, making 23 saves on the other end.

Verona will move to the championship game for the second consecutive year.

WiPH Game Summaries