Whitfield Hockey Wins Wickenheiser Cup In Epic Syle

SCOTTRADE CENTER -- senior hockey star Hunt Lucas couldn't believe his moment had finally come.

All his life he'd dreamed of this circumstance -- game tied...no time on the clock... just him and the other goalie...needing to make one play to win his team a championship.

And Wednesday night, after an exhausting three full periods of hockey, plus overtime, in the Wickenheiser Cup championship game against rival Lutheran South, Lucas' moment had finally come.

And he delivered, scoring the only goal during the overtime shootout against the Lancers, which lifted Whitfield to a 6-5 win, and gave the Warriors their second Wick Cup title in school history.

"Oh my god, it's like a dream come true," Lucas said, following Whitfield's wild championship celebration on the Scottrade Center ice. "I've been practicing for that with my friends and after practice everyday since forever. I always dreamed I would get a chance like that. I'm just glad it made it in the net."

So were his Warrior teammates, who were on their last legs in a physically and emotionally draining contest that might go down as one of the greatest Mid-States Hockey Association championship games ever played.

"You have to credit the kids on both teams," Whitfield head coach Jim Campbell said. "Both sides just played their hearts out. That game was right there for either side to take, and it's just a testament to these kids here that they were able to pull that out. I'm just so proud of them."

The game-winning goal was Lucas' second of the night, and ended a marathon contest that included several play-of-the-year-type moments that each were somehow topped by the one that came after it.

Lucas' first goal, his 39th of the season, came on a power-play midway through the second period, and helped Whitfield build a 4-2 edge going into the third.

But that's when the Lutheran South heroics began, as the Lancers rallied with two quick goals of their own at the start of the third to tie the score at 4.

First, South junior Cameron Durham scored on a power-play just 20 seconds into the third to make the pull the Lancers within one.

Then teammate Chris Hill, who turned in one of the great championship game performances ever with three goals and an assist for Lutheran South, tied the score about four minutes later, when he slammed home a pass fellow senior Jacob Schlote that made it 4-4.

"What can I say about Chris," Lutheran South head coach Dan Bertarelli said. "He's just a phenomenal player, and a wonderful leader for us. We started the year with him on defense, then we moved him up front to help with scoring. And he's just been fantastic for us."

So fantastic that he nearly won the game for Lutheran South on a breakaway chance later in the third, but Whitfield goalkeeper Alan Eidelman was up to the task and made a sprawling save to keep the score tied at 4.

With just over two minutes left, a potential new hero emerged, as Whitfield junior Marty Rubin gave his team the lead with a brilliant end-to-end rush that saw him maneuver past three South defenders before burying a wristshot between the legs of goalkeeper Taylor Rhodes.

The Whitfield 5-4 lead only lasted 21 seconds though, as South answered when with a goal by senior Zack Beining, who snuck in behind the Warrior defense and was all alone in front after Hill found him with a pass.

That goal set up a sudden-death overtime period that saw both teams generate good chances, but neither was able to capitalize and score.

That sent the game to an overtime shootout, in which both teams would get three chances on a one-man breakaway, with the team with the most scores earning the win and with it, the Wick Cup championship.

Of the five shooters that took a chance in the shootout, only Lucas didn't miss, and his dead-eye marksmanship proved to be the reason that Whitfield, which already won a state title in wrestling this winter, will be needing some extra room in the trophy case.

"It's what all us seniors wanted so bad," Lucas said. "We had some ups and downs this year, but we just stuck together and kept believing in each other, and now we get to end our senior years as champions."