(KNOX) – Moorhead scored three goals in the third period, stealing the momentum of a champion-vs-champion tilt with just 2:28 to play.
Central’s response would cap an historic night that saw the Knights prevail in the first matchup of high school heavyweights in 30 years.
Nolan Marto, on his way to a four-point night, scored with 1:25 left to force overtime, and linemate Gavin Wockenfuss drove in a rebound at 56 seconds of overtime, rallying Central for a 5-4 win at the Moorhead Sports Center.
Marto scored two goals and assisted two others, factoring in the scoring on Wockenfuss’s game winner as well as Rylan Spicer’s goal in the second period.
After Rylan Burke denied the Spuds on a handful of early opportunities, the Knights defense clogged their own end, consistently denying Moorhead passing lanes and open shots, then taking advantage of opportunities that presented themselves.
Chay Quamme scored in the first to give Central a 1-0 lead, and Spicer’s goal delivered the lead to Central again in the second. Marto’s first goal left the score 3-1 Knights after two periods.
But Moorhead scored three in the third, including a goal on the power play, a part of the game that the Spuds have been highly successful in, converting on 33% of the chances with the man-advantage this season. Two games in a 90-second span left Central in a 4-3 hole late in the third.
Marto began the game-tying play with a chip off the left wall, then took a pass and drove into the left circle, followed by a hard cut to his forehand and scored from the top of the crease to tie the game.
Both Spicer and Marto touched pucks on the game’s final rush, and Wockenfuss dashed in to find a rebounded puck and slammed the puck home to end the game, delivering Central the win and leading to a mobbing of Wockenfuss by his teammates.
Central hosts another Minnesota AA team, the Bemidji Lumberjacks, Thursday night at Purpur Arena.
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