BENSON -- Morris/Benson Area's splendid hockey season came to a crushing end Tuesday when Willmar scored twice in the last two minutes to cast the Storm from the Section 4A playoff picture with a 3-2 win.
Danny Swanson scored on a slap shot from the right point with 1:42 left in the third period to knot the score 2-2. Tyler Wahl, who had been stopped by MBA goalie Mitch Grunig moments before with a glove save, won the faceoff to get the puck to Swanson.
With under a minute left, Grunig ranged wide to his right to field the puck dumped from the Willmar end.
But the puck got away and sophomore center Joel Schendel picked it up behind the goal line and beat Grunig back to the cage for a virtual open-netter with 50 seconds left.
The victory sent Willmar (7-16-2) to the semifinal round at the MAC in St. Cloud to play Little Falls at 6 p.m. Friday. MBA retires with 19 wins against just four losses.
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MBA had gone in front 2-1 only a minute before Swanson's goal.
The Storms' explosive junior forward tandem of Tony Schultz and Jay Andrews busted out of center ice, going 2-0 on Willmar goalie Jeff Reed. Four precision tape-to-tape passes opened the right side for Schultz, whose 27th goal broke a 1-1 tie with 2:51 left on the Civic Center clock.
It was a full house and the Storm fans celebrated what looked like a second victory this season over the Cardinals.
The Cardinals countered the Storm's explosive forwards with a blue-collar forecheck that even MBA coach Mike Conboy had to acknowledge.
"We told the defense to just clear the zone, dump it down, and protect the lead but Willmar really turned up the pressure," said Conboy. "They're goaltender was hot, too."
Reed stopped 26 shots, several point-blank, including Josh Griffith's 15-foot snap shot at 8:16 of the third. Reed stopped a 2-0 break-in in the second to keep the game scoreless but two minutes later, at 7:02, Mitch Kleespies scored on a breakaway with Jake Erickson.
Willmar tied it 1-1 when no one picked up Josh Aslesen, who skated out of the right corner to stuff the puck past Grunig at 6:05 into the third. The score stood until the three-goal flurry in the last three minutes.
"Jeff kept us in the game the entire night," said Willmar coach Reed Larson. "The latter part of the game, we really put the pressure on getting to the guy with the puck in our offensive zone. The idea was to be physical and that created chances."
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Willmar 3, Morris/Benson 2
Willmar (6-16-2) 0 1 1 -- 2
Morris/Benson Area (19-3) 0 0 3 -- 3
FIRST PERIOD - no scoring
SECOND PERIOD - MBA: Mitch Kleespie (Jake Erickson) 7:02, shorthanded
THIRD PERIOD - Wil: Josh Aslesen (unassisted) 6:05 ... MBA: Tony Schultz (Jay Andrews) 14:09 .... Wil: Danny Swanson (Tyler Wahl) 15:18 ... Wil: Joel Schendel (unassisted) 16:10
Goalie saves - Willmar: Jeff Reed 7-12-7-26 .... Morris/Benson Area: Mitch Grunig 7-4-6-17
