Badlands 3 @ Sheridan 4 (OT) – Max Krueger had his postseason moment Friday night, scoring the game-winning goal to propel his top-seeded Sheridan Hawks to the Frontier Division Final with a come-from-behind Game 2 win over the No.4 seeded Badlands Sabres by a final score of 4-3. Just as it seemed Badlands was primed to force a Game 3 leading by two goals midway through the third period, Sheridan stormed back with two goals in the late stages to force overtime, where Krueger completed the comeback. Badlands, with its back against the wall, came out of the gate hot, outshooting the Hawks 13-5 in the first period. Oliver Giles provided the offense for the Sabres with his first goal of the postseason just over six minutes in. His goal gave Badlands a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes. Sheridan found its legs in the middle frame, outshooting Badlands 16-12, but only matched the Sabres offensive output. Dayton Niedert notched his second goal of the playoffs with 2:33 to go in the period to double the Sabres’ lead. Krueger (first) scored a huge goal with just six seconds remaining in the middle period to cut the deficit to one goal heading to the final 20 minutes. The Sabres got an opportunity on the power play midway through the third period and did not waste their chance. Gaven Marx (first) struck on the power play to restore Badlands’ two-goal advantage at 3-1. Sheridan’s comeback began just 46 seconds after Marx’s goal. Jeff Slivion (second) tallied an unassisted short-handed goal to bring the deficit back down to one score. The Hawks got a golden opportunity inside the final five minutes when Badlands were hit with two penalties that awarded Sheridan a full two-minute five-on-three power play. Sheridan’s power play came through in the form of Deagan Watson (second) to knot the game up at 3-3, sending the game to overtime. Having found their game since the slow first period, the Hawks wasted little time ending the series. Krueger buried the overtime winner just 3:21 into the extra frame to send Sheridan to the Frontier Division Final.
https://na3hl.com/news/story.cfm?id=42172
by Marissa Kotarba, Alex Crowe NA3HL