Simply put: the University School boys’ hockey team is headed to the state tournament.  The Wildcats earned their chance to play for the state championship by defeating Waupun 6-3 in the Sectional 8 Championship game on Saturday evening at the Blue Line Center in Fond du Lac.

The Warriors committed 6 penalties in the game that allowed USM to score on three power plays.   Junior Logan Geisness scored the first goal for USM in the first period. After junior Cody Kast and senior Jordan Foster put the Warriors ahead at 2-1, junior Nick Epperson scored a natural hat trick in the second period that gave the Wildcats the lead at 4-2.  It was a lead the Wildcats would not relinquish again.  Junior Colin Holz closed the gap to 4-3 in the second period, but senior Tommy Ferrara helped the Wildcats expand their lead with a goal in the third period.  Geisness tallied an empty-net goal to seal the game for USM.

The shot totals demonstrated how the close the game really was. Waupun, the Sectional’s number 2 seed, put 30 shots toward USM’s senior goaltender Mac Schmidt, who saved 25 of them.  The Wildcats, who were seeded number 1, put 6 of their 28 shots past Caleb Sauer, Waupun’s sophomore goalie.

Jason Woods, USM’s head coach commented, “I can't say enough about these guys; what a group.  Waupun was tough, real tough.  We proved once again what a resilient bunch we are.  To go down 2-1 only to surge back ahead and take charge shows the toughness of our guys.  They deserve to play in Madison, no doubt on that, and as everyone knows, when you get to Madison, anything can happen.”

Geisness opened the scoring midway through the first period.  His older brother Levi Geisness took an errant breakout pass in the center of the USM zone and forwarded it like an email to Logan who was sprinting across center ice.  Logan Geisness caught the pass and turned toward the Waupun net along the left boards.  He raced past the Waupun defense, cut in on net, and flipped a backhand shot past Sauer at 7:55.

The Warriors tied the score early in the second period.  Sophomore Nate Brown fired the puck from deep in the Waupun zone to Holz who had darted out of the Waupun end and skated to the USM blue line.  Holz stepped across the line then passed the puck to Kast, who was skating down the far side.  Kast went in on a breakaway, deked Schmidt, and lofted a backhand shot into the net at 1:50.

Waupun scored again four minutes later.  As the Warriors forechecked in the USM zone, Foster reached for the puck in the high slot and tossed it past the net.  Senior Brady Beekman got the puck as he skated behind the net.  He passed it out to Holz.  Holz popped it across the crease to Foster who banged it in at 5:50.

USM tied the score at 2-2 while on a power play.  During a face-off in the Waupun end, the puck went to junior Brandon McGill near the left point.  McGill passed it to senior Jerzey Judge at the center of the blue line.  Judge fired a shot at Sauer.  The rebound came out to the slot to Epperson. He immediately blazed it into the net at 7:47.

The Wildcats went ahead at 10:54 while on another power play.  After a Waupun shot binged off the post behind Schmidt, it went to Ferrara in the corner.  He whipped a breakout pass around the base boards to Logan Geisness on the right.  Geisness looked and saw Epperson zooming into center ice.  His long diagonal pass met Epperson just outside the Waupun blue line.  Epperson skated in on a breakaway, dropped Sauer with a move, and pushed a backhander through the five hole to give USM a 3-2 lead.

It wasn’t long before the Wildcats made it 4-2.  Off a face off in the USM end, the puck went to a Waupun defenseman.  Logan Geisness intercepted his attempt to pass down the sideboards.  Geisness whipped the puck into center ice to Epperson who had jumped ahead.  It was another breakaway for Epperson.  This time he cut to his forehand as he neared Sauer so that he could lift a shot high into the Waupun net at 12:02.

Holz scored for the Warrior less than a minute later.  On a breakout from the Waupun zone, Brown passed the puck to Foster who sent a long, diagonal pass to Holz who was speeding down the far side in center ice.  Holz cut across the USM defensemen into the left circle.  From there he fired a wrist shot past Schmidt at 12:37.

The score was 4-3 as the game entered the third period.  The fans who packed the arena were still unable to determine who would take command of the game and eventually win it.

The Wildcats made the decision clearer late in the third period while on a four-against-three power play.  As the Wildcats moved the puck in the Waupun end, it went to Logan Geisness in the right circle.  He passed it to Judge at the top of the point and Judge passed it back.  Geisness lined a pass across the slot to Ferrara who stepped in and gunned a shot past Sauer at 12:45.

Logan Geisness scored on an empty net goal with at 15:51 to assure the Wildcats of the win.

Waupun season ended with the loss.  The Warriors ended with a 20-7 record.  USM is now 19-6-2. The Wildcats play Appleton United in the quarterfinals of the WIAA State Tournament on Thursday, March 3rd at The Alliant Energy Center in Madison.  The game will begin about 1:00 p.m.