Overtime Goal Ends Dexter Hockey Team's Season

It took a last-minute goal and an overtime effort, but Jackson Lumen Christi was able to survive and move on in the Division 3 hockey state tournament defeating Dexter 4-3 in a pre-regional final in front of a packed house Thursday night at the Arctic Coliseum in Chelsea. With the loss, the Dreadnaughts ended their season with an 8-17-1 overall record.

“This is a tough loss for everybody,” Dexter coach Gary Howell said. “The kids played so hard. We lost to these guys (Lumen Christi) 6-1 a month ago. This was our best game of the year. We really came to play tonight.”

The Titans, who defeated Chelsea 4-3 on Feb. 22 in a pre-regional first round game, skated out to an early 1-0 lead as Chad Cesarz scored 13 seconds into the first period off a rebound in front of the Dreadnaught net giving Lumen Christi a 1-0 advantage. Nate Penn picked up an assist on the goal for the Titans.

With 23 seconds remaining in the first period, Dexter’s John Grover scored, tying the game at 1-1. Blake Miller and Joey Barlett assisted on the play for the Dreadnaughts.

“That was big,” Howell said. “That (goal) gave us momentum heading into the second period.”

Early in the second period, however, Lumen Christi pressured the Dexter goal. The Titans had a 5-on-3 power play three minutes into the second period, but the Dreadnaughts tightened up defensively and goaltender Cameron Rooks made numerous saves to keep the score knotted at 1-1.

While Rooks was superb between the pipes, Grover had the night’s biggest save. With Rooks sprawled outside of the crease, the puck slid underneath the Dexter goalie and headed for the back of the net and a Titans’ go-ahead goal. But Grover swooped in from behind and knocked the puck away inches from crossing the goal line. The play had the crowd on its feet.

Despite all of their defensive heroics, the Dreadnaughts couldn’t hold off Lumen Christi as Penn scored off a rebound with 1:04 left in the second period giving the Titans a 2-1 lead entering the third period.

At 9:29 of the third period, Jake Waldrup tied the score at 2-2 blasting a slap shot from just over the blue line beating Lumen Christi goalie David Mayo cleanly into the top right corner of the net. Tucker Brust and Barlett assisted on the goal for Dexter.

Three minutes later, Waldrup scored his second goal of the night giving the Dreadnaughts their first lead of the game at 3-2.

With the Dexter crowd roaring, Nick Stevens sent the game into overtime, scoring with 2:14 remaining on the clock to tie the contest at 3-3.

“The puck sort of flopped on us and we tried to clear it, but we couldn’t,” Howell said of the game-tying goal.

In the eight-minute extra session, Cesarz scored the game- and pre-regional title-winning goal with 41 seconds left for the night’s final score.

Despite the heartbreaking loss, Howell remained positive.

“I think it would be silly for any coach to be upset right now,” he said. “We gave a great effort. We knew coming into the season that we were a young team. We only had eight returning guys out of 19. We had some rough spots this year, but we kept on getting better. It paid off with a playoff win (6-1 over Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard Feb. 22 in a pre-regional opener). We’ll regroup and we’ll get better.”