Wow.
That’s one way to describe the reaction to UW-Stevens Point’s marathon NCAA Division III opening around hockey tournament game Saturday night against Augsburg.
Unreal. Amazing. Thrilling. Insane. Those words fit as well. Especially when you consider some of the numbers that came out a four-overtime thriller for the ages between the Pointers and Auggies in a win-or-go-home scenario.
In a game that gave survive and advance a whole new meaning, the Pointers ultimately winning 2-1 on a goal by David Hill nearly 10 minutes into the fourth OT period, the stats jumped off the sheet screaming ‘look at me.’
More than 100 shots were taken on goal, including a school-record 74 by the Pointers. The Auggies took 48 shots.
Five hours and 13 minutes of real time is how long the game took to play, the action spilling over into a new day in both the Eastern and Central time zones. At one point, you had to wonder if the country would be setting its clocks ahead before the outcome was finally decided.
On the scoreboard clock, sixth-ranked UW-Stevens Point and 15th-ranked Augsburg played two full games and them some. For those scoring at home, it added up to a total of 129 minutes and 28 seconds of exhausting, back-and-forth, leave-it-all-on-the-ice hockey.
To say the more than 1,600 fans in attendance at a sold-out K.B. Willett Arena in Stevens Point, Wisconsin got their money’s worth would be a serious understatement.
The game started out looking as if it would tilt in Augsburg’s favor. The Auggies struck first on a goal by Eric Palmqvist at the 13:11 mark of the opening period. He scored that goal off the power play, only the sixth time the Pointers have allowed a power play goal all season.
Cody Moline answered for UW-Stevens Point at the 9:45 mark of the second period, tying the game at one. It was his fifth of the year. What no one knew at the time was that it was going to be a while before someone scored again.
There were no shortage of chances by either team. The shot totals tell you as much. The goaltenders were up to the task.
Ryan Wagner made a career-high 47 saves on the night. Samuel Vyletelka of Augsburg, meanwhile, was almost superhuman. He stopped 72 shots, a career-high, and the most saves ever by a Pointers’ opponent.
One OT period went by and then another. And then another. Wagner and Vyletelka both made 11 saves in the third OT to send the game to a fourth one.
Finally, at the 9:28 mark of a game that had been nothing short of wild and had the attention of the D-III hockey world captivated, Hill delivered the game winner.
He connected on a shot off a rebound to seal the deal on the longest game the Pointers have ever played in. It was only his sixth goal of the year, and no doubt the biggest.
The game proved to be the second-longest ever in D-III hockey history. For the Auggies, long games aren’t anything new.
They’ve played in three of the longest games in D-III history, including the longest ever when they spent 138 minutes and 38 seconds on the ice in a 6-5, four-OT loss to Gustavus in the 2010 MIAC semifinal round. Their 2-1, four-OT win over Saint John’s in the 2019 MIAC championship game was the third-longest ever at 120 minutes and 54 seconds.
For Augsburg, Saturday’s gut-wrenching loss ends its season. The Auggies finish 16-9-2. They won a MIAC title this season and made the NCAA tournament for the eighth time.
For UW-Stevens Point, the journey continues. The Pointers now get a second-round date with reigning national champion Adrian next week on the road. The Pointers, in the tourney for the first time since winning it all in 2019, are 20-5-4 overall and have won seven consecutive games.
Who knows what is in store for that one. Another marathon game? Perhaps. Only time will tell.
What we do know is the Pointers and Auggies defined what postseason hockey is all about in one of those games where you hate to see someone lose. It was an instant classic, one of those games no one will soon forget.
