On Saturday afternoon, Minneapolis native Axel Bisbee wrote himself into Bantam Elite League history. 

Bisbee’s seeing-eye shot from the blueline lifted the Bruins to a championship win in the BEL Minor’s finale in Eagan, putting a dramatic bow on the past month of moments and memories with a 6-5 overtime victory over North Dakota. 

The No. 6 seed Bruins took a 3-1 lead into halftime, with Landon Huh imposing his will on the game with a pair of tallies. North Dakota’s Alex Gold put the Peace Garden State on the board midway through the first half after Huh’s initial goals, but Bruins forward Luca Jarvis scored the first of his two goals five minutes later to bring the Bruin lead back to two. 

Seemingly in cruise control, the Bruins’ advantage was short-lived. 

Colin Grubb pulled fifth-seeded North Dakota within one, then saw that momentum shift after the Bruins' Bode McConnell finished off passes from Huh and Max Aronson for his 14th goal of the BEL Minor season. Jarvis’s second goal made the score 5-3, and the Bruins would hold that lead until the 11:28 mark of the second half. 

Haydon Eckart continued his strong play with a goal at that moment. Then Gold netted his second goal of the game to make the score 5-4. Colin Grubb’s second score tied the game with 7:47 to play in regulation, with neither team capitalizing in those final minutes. 

With 1:51 to play in overtime, Bode McConnell somehow managed a pass through the middle of the North Dakota zone, hopping the outstretched stick of a North Dakota player. 

Bisbee gathered the puck, loaded the shot, and released a picture-perfect wrist shot, which slipped past North Dakota goaltender Oliver Bryan. Bryan finished the game with 22 spectacular saves, capping an outstanding weekend for the Grand Forks native. 

Bruins goaltender Chanson Boespflug turned in a wonderful performance of his own, making 17 saves after standing on his head in the quarterfinals and semifinals. 

For his play over the past few weeks, Luca Jarvis was named the BEL Minor Most Valuable Player. A product of the Stillwater association, Jarvis finished the season with 10 goals and 19 points, routinely making the highlight-reel-worthy plays look easy.