ONALASKA, Wisconsin (WXOW) - Tyler Ebner may only be a freshman, but on Friday night he showed upperclassman poise, delivering Onalaska a share of the MVC hockey title.
The Hilltoppers trailed Tomah 4-0 in the first period, thanks to a rapid-fire scoring spree from the Timberwolves that saw all four goals netted in under two minutes. That included a shorthanded effort from Tim Nicksic.
Gabe Flood and Luke Tepp led the comeback for Onalaska. Goals from each made it a 4-2 Tomah lead at the first intermission. Following another Hilltopper goal, Flood netted the equalizer to end the second period at a 4-4 tie.
Onalaska had all the momentum entering the third, but on a Hilltopper power play Jarrett McDonald put the Timberwolves back in the driver's seat with another shorthanded goal. Facing a similar outcome to their last meeting, Ebner went backhand with a rebound and found the back of the net to send the game to overtime.
Just a few minutes ticked off the clock before Ebner struck again. This time, the Onalaska freshman connected on a game-winning one-timer giving the Hilltoppers a 6-5 win and at least a share of the MVC championship.
With the win Onalaska stands at 6-2 and a half game ahead of the Aquinas Co-op (5-2). The Avalanche can grab the other half of the conference title with a win over Tomah (3-3) on Tuesday.
