Even though Oshkosh and Fond du Lac Springs play in the Badgerland Conference, they played the first 12 minutes on Saturday like they had never met.

That feeling didn't last long after that, as the teams combined for six goals in the next 8:29 of play. The Ledgers tallied an insurance third period goal and walked away with not only a 5-2 win, but grabbed the Badgerland Conference title in their second year of loop play.

The Wisconsin Prep Hockey Game of the Week, which took place at the FDL Blue Line Ice Center, featured two up-and-coming teams from the Fox Valley area. 

The hosts scored first when Tyler Grebe grabbed a pass from Eric Steffes and punched the puck past Oshkosh goalie Jon Krueger. Jacob Schultz also recorded an assist on the play at the 12:32 mark.

The visiting Ice Hawks had a quick answer when their star sophomore forward Nick Monfils scored an unassisted goal just 75 seconds later to tie the contest at one.

The Ledgers then would show off some of their stellar special teams play to take the lead.

While on the man-advantage, FDL Springs made it 2-1 on a goal by Schultz, assisted by Brendan Ahern at the 15:12 mark of the period.
 
The period ended with the home team enjoying a shot margin of 11-7.

The Ledgers scored early in the second to take a 3-1 lead.

Grebe took a pass from Steffes and sent a backhander past the outstretched glove of Krueger for a two-goal lead. Ty Riehl's nice pass from the neutral zone also earned him an assist on the score at 1:39 of the period.

Thirty-six seconds later, Monfils struck again for Oshkosh when he grabbed a rebound of his own shot and beat Ledgers goalie Parker Deanovich to cut the lead to 3-2.

Not to be outdone, Steffes scored at the 4:01 mark when he snapped a rebound past Krueger to build the lead back to two goals. Schultz earned his second helper on the play.

Although the score did not change for the rest of the period, a key penalty kill kept the lead at two for Springs and did not allow the Ice Hawks to get any momentum.

The Ledgers were whistled for two penalties in a span of 1:06, allowing the guests a 5-on-3 power play for 54 seconds late in the period.

Things were so wild that Deanovich even  lost his stick during a scramble at the end of the two-man advantage, but he and his team kept the puck out of the net for a huge lift for the home squad.

Each team fired ten shots on net during the period, but the Ledgers skated off with a 4-2 lead going into the final 17 minutes of play.

In the third period, Oshkosh took two penalties before the Ledgers would tally again.

The Ledgers used lots of puck movement and showed great patience before Benton Deanovich slid the puck from his spot at the right point to Steffes, who was waiting on the sideboards near the top of the circle. Deanovich skated into the slot, allowing Steffes some space and time and he took advantage of it and ripped a hard shot past Krueger's glove for a 5-2 lead at 10:05.

The balance of the game had three power plays, but neither team could score as the hosts took a three-goal victory.

Springs outshot Oshkosh 16-6 in the stanza.

Parker Deanovich made 21 stops for the winners, while Krueger had 32 saves for the Ice Hawks.