Fond du Lac goalie Joe Rebedew was unbeatable in the first 49 minutes of action, stopping all 30 shots thrown at him by the visitors from Madison Edgewood.
Then all hell broke loose.
The Crusaders swarmed the net and scored two goals in the last 1:43 to sneak past the Cardinals 2-1 Saturday evening at the Fond du Lac Blue Line Ice Center.
"There's a sense of urgency in the last three or four minutes, and there's another level (of competition) there," said Edgewood coach Pete Rothering. "We'd like to do it for more than three minutes, but it was enough for today and we'll learn some lessons from it."
The report card will show an Edgewood victory in a game that was hard-fought throughout, with many chances for both teams during the contest.
The first period was scoreless with the Cardinals controlling the stanza, out-shooting their foes by a 14-5 margin. Fondy was unable to convert on two power plays, while Edgewood missed on one attempt at the man-advantage.
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Fondy drew first blood 3:54 into the middle period when captain Joe Blagoue beat Crusader goalkeeper Alex Witz to make it 1-0, with assists going to Michael Wilson and Bo Bartelt.
Each team failed to convert on the PP, with Edgewood holding a huge 16-4 shot edge in the period.
The third period tally showed each team with a power play chance, but neither was able to score, bringing the game to the final two minutes when some tenacious Crusader play put the guests on the board.
Chris Beglinger pounded home a backhand rebound to beat Rebedew on the blocker side to tie the contest at one with just 1:43 remaining. Ryan Moore was credited with an assist on the play.
"'Begs' is one of our big playmakers," said Rothering. "He's a captain and a senior and we go to him in every situation."
With just under a minute left, Edgewood called time-out to discuss strategy and watched it work to perfection as Beglinger dug out a loose puck behind the net and fired a ten-foot pass to Gage Maurer. The senior one-timed a rocket past a surprised Rebedew for the game-winner with 28 seconds left. Zach Zanoya was also given a helper on the chance.
"Gage has made a living from scoring big goals," noted Rothering. "For him to step up for us was great."
Edgewood held a slight 14-12 shot edge in the wild third period.
Witz made 29 stops in securing the win, while Rebedew had 33 saves in the contest.
Fond du Lac (1-1-0) will travel to University School Tuesday, while Edgewood (2-0-0) will host Baraboo/Portage the same evening.
