In the second game of the weekend series at Northern Michigan (1-1-0, 0-0-0 CCHA), St. Cloud State (1-1-0, 0-0-0 WCHA) charted a 3-2 overtime win against Northern Michigan at the Berry Events Center.
Joe Jensen was the game’s hero, as he posted the winning goal with six seconds left on the clock with an unassisted tally in the OT session. The win was the first for SCSU’s new coach Bob Motzko.
“I was really proud of the way this team responded tonight. So many guys really stepped up tonight for us,” Motzko said.
SCSU jumped out quickly in the contest, as the Huskies pressured NMU goalie Derek Janzen with eight first-period shots. Janzen withstood the test and held SCSU at bay until the Wildcats could post the game’s first goal at 15:58 of the first period.
Andrew Contois gave NMU the early lead with a power-play goal against SCSU goalie Bobby Goepfert, with assists added by Dirk Southern and Mike Santorelli.
Goepfert was making his SCSU debut in the game. A junior from Kings Park, N.Y., he transferred to SCSU from Providence after an outstanding junior hockey career at Cedar Rapids in the USHL.
The Huskies notched their first goal of the new season at 13:43 of the second period, when senior forward Jensen directed home a blast from the blue line by sophomore defender Aaron Brocklehurst on the power play.
Billy Hengen provided the Huskies with a 2-1 lead in the third period with his first goal of the season at 11:32. Assists were carded on the play by Gordon and Chris Anderson.
NMU charged back to tie the game when Contois plowed into Goepfert at 12:28 of the third. When the final verdict was provided, the officials awarded NMU with its second goal of the night with an assist credited to Pat Bateman.
In overtime, SCSU killed an early penalty for too many men on the ice thanks to a sterling glove save by Goepfert. Jensen then provided the last-second heroics.
