MOORHEAD-Centennial sophomore forward Lucas McGregor held the puck in the right circle for what seemed like an eternity in overtime with the Cougars on the man-advantage Saturday. He was the only one to find the back of the net on Moorhead senior goaltender Easton Masseth all night.
Everyone at the Moorhead Sports Center knew McGregor was going to shoot. Everyone but McGregor, who snuck a pass to Dylan Klehr in the slot and Klehr tapped it into the back of the net for a 3-2 win.
"I was just waiting for him to shoot and he passed it backdoor. Guy had good tip out front and just went high blocker," said Masseth, who had 32 saves Saturday. "It's a pretty tough loss for the boys. Out there playing for everybody. I know they always got my back. An OT loss is always rough."
The win made it seven straight for No. 14 Centennial and snapped a five-game win streak for No. 16 Moorhead (12-8). The Cougars (13-5-1) also soured senior night for the Moorhead seniors like Masseth, who were playing in the final regular-season game at the Moorhead Sports Center of their high school careers.
"Last time playing here (in the regular season) it's rough," Masseth said. "The whole crowd and all the parents were there. It's hard. They're a good team. We learned that we can play with anybody in the state and that's what we'll take."
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Midway through the first Centennial goaltender Nate Fellows stopped Eli Johnson's shot from the point and Kyle Opp's rebound attempt, but he couldn't stop Codee Brace's second rebound that opened the scoring.
Centennial tied things up 4 minutes, 21 seconds into the second on a breakaway goal for McGregor, but Masseth kept it tied headed into the third thanks to 15 saves in the second and 24 through the first two periods.
"They made a play. It's tough when you're short-handed and when it's one shot that's going to make or break the game," Moorhead coach Jon Ammerman said. "I'm proud of the kids. They fought. I thought in the first two periods Centennial did a really good job of getting pucks to the net and Easton stood strong and we found a way to tie it up and fight back. Now, the next step is to learn how to win it."
McGregor struck again on the power play in the third period to put Centennial up 2-1 with 12:13 to go, but Moorhead sophomore Carter Randklev tied it back up at 2-2 with a goal six minutes later. Less than three minutes into overtime, McGregor found Klehr and Centennial found its seventh straight win.
"It's a tough loss and we've been on a roll lately, so it's kind of a momentum changer for us, but we just have to get back to work on Monday," Randklev said. "Last home game for the regular season. It kind of sucks we lost, but it happens in hockey. It's just how we react and come back that matters."
FIRST PERIOD: 1, M, Brace (Opp, Johnson), 6:10.
SECOND PERIOD: 2, C, McGregor (Brickner, Klehr), 2:21.
THIRD PERIOD: 3, C, McGregor (Heron, Nyman), 4:47, pp. 4, M, Randklev, 10:28.
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OVERTIME: 5, C, Klehr (McGregor, Heron), 2:59, pp.
SAVES: C, Fellows 4-6-6-3-19. M, Masseth 9-15-6-2-32
