COLORADO SPRINGS — It’s a funny thing, that momentum.
After three periods of up-and-down-the-ice hockey, Lewis-Palmer and Regis were knotted at 4-4, and the Rangers, who had tied the game with two goals in the third, seemingly were in control.
But Regis (19-1-1) seized the momentum right back, getting a game-winning goal from sophomore defenseman Austin Miller 1:44 into overtime Thursday night to advance the Raiders to their first hockey state title game on Saturday against Battle Mountain at the World Arena.
“I can’t believe it — fortune finally smiled on us, it’s as simple as that,” Regis coach Dan Woodley said. “We were able to turn it on late in the third with a couple of good chances, and we were able to build from that momentum.”
Miller’s game-winner, a slapper from between the circles, deflected off the Rangers’ Adrian Olson and past goalie Colin Anonsen.
“I thought, during 5-on-5 hockey, we were the better team,” L-P coach Steve Fillo said. “But we just couldn’t get the breaks to go our way, and that’s the game of hockey.”
After a three-goal Regis outburst in the second period, featuring two goals from junior forward Connor Hayes, the Rangers equalized early in the third on goals from Nick Galvin and Garrett Lukken.
A costly penalty on Michael Fisk in overtime set up the clinching power-play goal.
Lewis-Palmer 2 0 2 0 — 4
Regis 1 3 0 1 — 5
First period — LP: M. Rigg (Fisk, Bever), 5:33; R: Cline (Strode), 13:42 sh; LP: Yates (S. Fillo, Lukken), 14:04 pp. Penalties — Olson, LP (slashing), 7:03; Mohr, R (interference), 9:32; Johnson, R (cross checking), 13:15.
Second period — R: Hayes (Carey, Mohr) 10:12 pp; Cline (Johnson), 12:40; Hayes (Stack), 13:41. Penalties — Escobedo, LP (too many men), 4:25; Ottenbreit, R (interference), 5:14; Lachner, LP (tripping), 7:27; Lukken, LP (slashing), 8:17.
Third period — LP: Galvin (S. Fillo, Yates), 3:22; Lukken (Fisk, Galvin), 5:46. Penalties — None.
Overtime — Miller (Davis, Hayes) 1:44 pp. Penalties — Fisk, LP (tripping) 1:02; Fisk, LP (post-game misconduct), 1:44.
Shots on goal — Lewis-Palmer 9-8-12-1 — 30; Regis 5-8-4-3 — 20. Saves — Lewis-Palmer (Anonsen) 4-5-4-2 — 15; Regis (Nowicki) 7-8-10-1 — 26. Power-play opportunities — Lewis-Palmer 1-for-3; Regis 2-for-5.
