It was over. 

And then it wasn’t. 

And then it was. 

And then all was perfect in Moorhead. 

The Spuds held a 4-1 lead over Stillwater after two periods of Sunday’s Battle for the Blue Ox Bantam AA championship game, in total control and seemingly headed for an easy win over the fast but snakebitten Ponies. Goals from Drew Kortan, Wyatt Cullen, and Max Cullen spotted the Spuds their lead, with the lone Stillwater goal scored by Lane Powers.

However, with 1:13 to play in regulation, the Ponies found their legs, getting goals from Jonah Johnston, Luca Jarvis, and Lane Powers to force a miraculous overtime session. With nothing decided in the first overtime, the game headed to a fifth period, where Pascha Goryachev blasted a shot past Stillwater’s Leyton Rinehart for the game-winner. 

The win is Moorhead’s third consecutive Blue Ox championship trophy, made all the more impressive by the fact that several high contributors from last year’s team have departed for the high school ranks. 

Moorhead's perceived home-ice advantage was mitigated by the machine-like efficiency of Osseo-Maple Grove on Sunday afternoon, as the Leafbirds scored once in the first period and three more times in the third for a 4-1 victory in the Battle of the Blue Ox's Bantam A championship. 

Finn Starkey scored the first of his two goals in the opening period, giving OMG a 1-0 advantage that carried over into the third frame after a scoreless second. Most Valuable Player pick Sam Jacobson extended the Leafbird to 2-0 with 7:59 to play, and Jacobson's goal was followed by scores from Kaden Farner and Starkey's second tally. 

Moorhead's Connor Halsa scored with 34 seconds remaining to spoil an otherwise impressive goaltending performance by OMG's Mark Stienessen.