Playing in the championship game of the annual Paul Meyer Memorial Tournament Saturday, the University School boys’ hockey team tied Middleton 5-5 in overtime then won the tournament championship in a shoot out in a non-conference game at USM.

The Wildcats fell behind early in the third period.  As the clock ticked to the game’s last minute, they pulled their goalie, John Ostermeyer.  The move was successful. With just 17 seconds left in regulation time, Nick Epperson snapped a pass from Hayden Brown into the net to send the game to overtime.  During the eight minute added period, neither team scored, so by WIAA stipulation the game was officially a tie. Tournament rules mandated a three-man shoot out format to determine a winner. Middleton was unable to put two shots past Ostermeyer.  At the other end of the ice, Ben Hrabak scored against Middleton’s goalie Tony Wuesthofen; then Logan Geisness won the tournament for the Wildcats with a five-hole shot.

“We played with a complete lack of discipline in the first and the second periods but thankfully turned things around in the third. It was a fluke goal that put us behind, and I was so proud of the way the boys responded and didn't give up. It would have been nice to get the ‘W’, but we'll take the shout out win for our second straight Paul Meyer title,” said USM coach Tim Quinn.

There was plenty of scoring in regulation time. The first of the ten goals the crowd witnessed came just
3:41 into the game on a USM power play.  As the Wildcats worked the puck around the Cardinals’ zone, the puck went to Tommy Ferrara in the center of the blue line.  Ferrara shot.  Hrabak stepped to the net and tapped in the rebound.

Middleton tied the game at 1-1 less than three minutes later.  In the Wildcats’ end, Davis Bunz picked off a clearing attempt at the blue line.  He stepped into the slot, stickhandled to load his shot, and then fired the puck high into the USM net at 6:07.

The Wildcats went back ahead at 12:55 of the period.  Jerzey Judge began the play by skating the puck out of the USM end.  As he crossed the Cardinals’ blue line, Judge fed the puck to Nick Epperson on the left boards and continued toward the net.  Epperson passed it back, and Judge quickly sent the puck past Wuesthofen.

The teams exchanged special teams’ goals in the early part of the second period.  Epperson scored a short-handed goal for USM at 1:33 and Holam Kolba scored a power play goal at 4:45 for the Cardinals.

Midway through the period the Cardinals scored two goals a minute apart to take the lead away from USM.   The Cardinals tied the game at 9:10. Along the right mid-boards in the Middleton zone, Bunz pulled the puck away from a forechecker and took off.  He out raced a Wildcat defenseman, swerved to the left circle and unloaded a shot.  Eddie Matush hustled to the net and knocked in the rebound.

Middleton took the lead a minute later.  As the Cardinals’ moved the puck around the USM zone, it went to Jake Livesey at the center of the blue line.  He fired.  The rebound went behind the net to Jordan Hylbert who shoveled it toward the crease.  The puck bounced into the net and the Cardinals were suddenly ahead 4-3.

USM scored again at 12:42. In the Cardinals’ end, Joey Wallskog pulled a loose puck from the side boards and passed it to Judge at the center point, Judge lined a shot past Wuesthofen to tie the score at 4-4.

Middleton went ahead at 4:22 of the third period when Zach Heidel sent a breakout pass ahead to Colin Butler.  Butler skated across the USM blue line and flipped the puck toward the net.  It ended up getting past Ostermeyer and Middleton had the lead once more.

The Cardinals held that lead until the final minute when Epperson was able to score and send the game to overtime and then the shoot out.

USM is now 2-0-1 and 0-0 in the Classic Eight Conference.  The Wildcats head to Wausau to play D.C. Everest in a non-conference game at the Greenheck Field House on Friday, December 5th beginning at 7:00 p.m.