Burnsville beat Bloomington Jefferson Tuesday night 2-1 on a late goal by Tyler Smith at Bloomington Ice Garden. The Blaze got their first win of the season after a tough start in which they lost late to Hill Murray and in the last seconds of overtime to Edina. Tuesday, lady luck was on their side when a wide angle shot by Smith got past Jefferson goalie Michael Vande Waa for the eventual game winner. "Smitty took it to the net wide and somehow it took a lucky bounce and went in," said Burnsville head coach Janne Kivihalme after the game. 

Each team took turns scoring in the first two periods. Nolan Sawchuk scored for the Blaze late in the first, a period in which was all Burnsville. Senior forward Eric Otto found Sawchuk on a two on one play and the senior defenseman tapped it in for the Blaze. Down by a goal late in the second period, Jefferson got a break when Wieland Parrish (nephew of former Jaguar Mark) got a loose puck in front of the net during a scramble and buried it to tie it going into the third period.

In the third, the tide slightly favored Jefferson. "I thought in the third period, they began to take it to us a little bit," said Kivihaime. "Our guys found a way in the end to get a win, which was great."

The win Tuesday for Burnsville bodes well for the Blaze later in the season when seeding in Section 3AA seeding comes out. "Beating a section opponent is huge for us, it sets up for our ultimate goal of making it to state, " said Blaze forward Eric Otto who finished the game with two assists. The senior forward showed great speed and tenacity the whole game for the Blaze. Otto on the last goal, "Coach just wants us to go fast and get pucks to the net...it went in, fluke goal, we'll take it game winner, we'll take it."  For a really good team like Burnsville, any win is a good win...especially in a section seeding game like Tuesday.