Eagles, Lourdes skate to another tie

By JIM BASTIAN

Journal Sports Writer

NEW ULM -- For the second time this season, New Ulm and Rochester Lourdes met in high school hockey.

And for the second time, the two teams could not determine a winner as they battled to a 4-4 tie. Earlier in the season in Rochester, the teams tied at 3-3.

Nate Kloos and Jay Geisthardt each scored twice for the Eagles while New Ulm netminder Tyler Zollner stopped 23 shots.

"I thought that we played well in the game with the exception of a mental lapse with three minutes to go in the game," New Ulm coach Tom Macho said.

That lapse permitted Rochester to score twice in a span of 54 seconds that erased a 4-2 New Ulm lead.

"We had the momentum and everything going for us," Macho said. "We had them frustrated in that (third) period."

That frustration on the part of Lourdes came in the form of penalties to the visiting Eagles that gave the New Ulm Eagles four power play chances in the first seven minutes as they entered the final period knotted at 2-2.

And it would result in two New Ulm goals -- one coming courtesy of the power play.

Jay Geisthardt gave New Ulm a 3-2 lead when the hometown Eagles had a 5-on-3 advantage at the 1:46 mark as he beat Lourdes goalie Andy Wright.

Geisthardt then upped the New Ulm lead to 4-2 just under seven minutes later when he again put the puck by Wright at 7:37 of the third period.

But Lourdes came back on goals from Chris Kern and Jamie Ruff.

"We have had trouble with that all year," Macho said. "[Ruff] danced right through everybody -- four of our guys had a shot at him. We did not take the body."

Neither team could score in the overtime (a 6-5 shot advantage for New Ulm) as they again skated to a tie.

"With a 4-2 lead with three minutes to go, a tie was not real good," Macho said. "But we did not lose. I have never seen three ties in one season."

But a tie was the furthest from the minds of New Ulm after the first period when Lourdes jumped to a 2-0 lead on goals from Matt Oster and Jason DeVinny.

"They capitalized on two mistakes that we made," Macho said. "They took advantage of them."

But New Ulm, who was out-shot 12-6 by Lourdes in the first period, came out flying in the second period, outshooting Rochester 19-2 with two of the shots finding the back of the Lourdes net.

Nate Kloos tallied his first goal of the game when he put a backhander by Wright in at the 2:23 mark.

"They did not have him covered and the goaltender kicked [a Nick Besemer shot] right out at Nate and he backhanded it," Macho said. That brought the Eagles to within a goal.

The senior forward then netted his second goal of the game with an unassisted goal at the 9:03 mark that found the five-hole on Wright.

"What happened is that [Wright] was expecting a pass," Macho said. "He moved away a little bit and Nate shot it in at a bad angle."

Macho felt that New Ulm goalie Tyler Zollner played very well considering that 24 hours earlier, he was hospitalized due to dehydration.

"He played a full game and an overtime -- he held up well," Macho said.

The New Ulm JV won 2-1. Matt Hooper and Justin Gulden scored for New Ulm.

LOURDES 2 0 2 0 -- 4

NEW ULM 0 2 2 0 -- 4