A day after historic 8 OT championship game, players, coaches and families still shocked

DAVID KILKENNEY/Special to the Free Press
Orchard Lake St. Mary's and Marquette players accept the trophy at Compuware Arena early Sunday morning after being declared co-champs.

BY CHRIS LAU • FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER

The puck kept coming at her son Saturday night, and Laura Nezich felt helpless.

Jon Nezich stood in goal for the Marquette Redmen hockey team -- three saves in the first overtime, two in the second, two in the third, three in the fourth ... If the puck got past him, a state title would be lost.

"I was a wreck," Laura Nezich recalled Sunday. "It was embarrassing. I don't remember breathing."

With every shot, every bounce, every face-off, her heart rate shot up.

"They say the stress hormone adds to your weight," she said. "I thought, 'Oh great!' "

But Jon never faltered. And neither did his counterpart, Ryan Morley-Stockton of the Orchard Lake St. Mary's Eaglets. Both senior goalies played the game of their careers in the Michigan High School Athletic Association Division 1 hockey state finals Saturday at Compuware Arena in Plymouth, and their teams played to a 1-1 draw after eight grueling overtimes. The teams were declared co-champions by the MHSAA.

It is the only tie in the history of Michigan's hockey finals, and -- at 109 minutes and eight overtimes -- it is the longest game in U.S. high school hockey history.

The goalies combined for 91 saves, including 53 in the eight sudden-death periods. Morley-Stockton set a state championship game record with 58 saves.

"Everyone will get a ring and everyone is happy," said Eaglets forward Shane Halaas, who also played in the longest football game in state history in the finals last November (five overtimes). "After eight overtimes, there is no loser. It ended the right way."

Mike Peterson scored for the Redmen in the second period, and Tim Hooker tied it up for St. Mary's late in regulation.

* * *

Entering the locker rooms after regulation, St. Mary's had the momentum. Marquette has just allowed the tying goal while just 1:32 away from the title -- and vengeance for last year's 4-2 championship game loss to St. Mary's.

Under Michigan high school hockey rules, the teams play infinite eight-minute overtime periods until someone scores. (Periods are 15 minutes during regulation.) Players return to the locker rooms and the ice is resurfaced after each even-numbered overtime.

After overtime No. 2, both teams were still riding high on adrenaline. Coaches were still discussing offensive strategy.

After No. 4, exhaustion kicked in. The players ate fruit and drank as much water as they could. The coaches didn't say much.

After No. 6, the locker rooms were quiet. Dehydration became an issue. Some players weren't even sweating anymore. The St. Mary's players who didn't dress went upstairs to the concessions to buy Snickers bars for their teammates. Likewise, the Marquette coach's wife bought Nutter Butters for his players.

"My legs were cramping up," St. Mary's captain Billy Balent recalled. "I could barely move. In the early intermissions, I'd take off the upper part (of his pads). The last two times they resurfaced the ice, I left it on because I was too tired to take it off."

* * *

Meanwhile, away from the locker rooms, MHSAA officials began discussions of pronouncing co-champs. Randy Allen, the MHSAA assistant director in charge of hockey, approached both athletic directors and both supported a tie.

The rulebook says to play until a winner. Having a shoot-out wasn't an option because it hadn't been approved by the rules committee.

"Not only was there a matter of physical exhaustion," Allen said, "but the kids hadn't had nutrition since early in the afternoon. We had to make a responsible decision."

* * *

While in the locker rooms before what would have been the ninth overtime, both coaches were told of the MHSAA's decision. Neither Marquette coach Joe Papin nor St. Mary's coach Brian Klanow had a say. Both had mixed feelings.

"Obviously, there was a little disappointment," Papin said. "I thought we had the upper hand and could win. But we're very satisfied with being co-champion."

What happened next was truly unique. The players re-took the ice to shake hands. Both teams embraced each other, posed for photos and raised the same trophy.

A runner-up trophy was never brought out.

Despite her anxiety, Laura Nezich, the goalie's mother, stayed around to watch every shift. Most fans did.

Moments before the announcer told everyone there would be co-champions, the crowd did a wave.

Moments later, the players joined their fans in the celebration.

* * *

Afterward, St. Mary's bused back to campus and raised a new championship banner. Marquette returned to the Sheraton Hotel in Novi, where it had a banquet room reserved, and munched on reheated pizza. Both celebrations were short and low-key.

"We said, 'Win, lose or draw, we're going to celebrate,' " Papin said. "We actually said that. Who would've ever thought it really was going to be a draw?"

Prep Hockey

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