U18 Victory Honda Takes State Championship in Overtime! Congratulations! Next up...Nationals!
A very competitive, tight checking, and hard fought game between VH and Belle Tire made this one to remember. The action was back and forth with VH taking the early lead 1-0 off a great tip by Aidan Hickok with an assist from Carter Jamieson. The first period would end with a 1-0 VH lead.
Belle Tire would tie the game up early in the 2nd people off of a powerplay. This didn't last long as VH would get a powerplay of their own and take the lead in the 2nd period. Off the initial faceoff, Nathan Schaefer would rip a shot to the back post where Joey Meredith was positioned. He was able to redirect the puck into the open net to give VH a 2-1 lead. Belle Tire would storm back scoring 2 goals of their own in the 2nd period, the go-ahead marker with 5 seconds remaining in the 2nd period.
VH would come out of the dressing room for the 3rd period trying to regain momentum. VH, playing with urgency, would be able to start stealing a bit of the momentum during the 3rd. With less than 2 minutes remaining in the game, off of a 6 on 5 faceoff in the Belle Tire zone, Nathan Schaefer would keep a puck in and make a pass over to Easton Andrews who would make no mistake with his shot as he tied the game up 3-3. VH would have a few more chances during regulation to end the game, but the Belle Tire goalie was up to the task keeping it a 3-3 game as regulation ended.
In OT, it was back and forth action. VH would be called for a "too many man" penalty which put them down 5-4. During the penalty kill, Belle Tire would be called for a "too many man" penalty of their own.
A big offensive zone faceoff was won by Eric Palmer, puck kept in by Schaefer, and after a few exchanges between Schaefer and Palmer, Palmer would find himself skating into the top of the left circle and fire a perfectly placed shot over the glove of the Belle Tire goaltender sending the VH players onto the ice to begin the celebration. This would be the first VH State Championship since 2019 for the 18's.