WASILLA – Dylan Steele delivered two goals inside the opening eight minutes Saturday, so he definitely deserved kudos for his part in Monroe Catholic's 3-1 win over Houston in the Greatland small-school state hockey championship.
Rams goaltender Nate Jankowski made 27 saves, including seven during an extended Houston power play in the third period at the Menard Center, so he also merited tribute.
But the unofficial award for situational awareness surely belonged to Monroe's Grant Olson, whose second-period goal capped a startling and puzzling sequence.
With the Rams leading 2-0 midway through the game and threatening in the Hawks zone, a shriek from the crowd pierced the building. Everyone on the ice stopped playing because they thought the shriek was actually the sound of an official's whistle halting play.
Olson, with the puck near his skates, was the first to recognize that no whistle had been blown and play was still alive. He promptly unleashed a modest wrister from the right circle that glanced off Houston goaltender Caleb Beauvais (19 saves) and in for a 3-0 Rams lead.
Olson, a senior, said the span of several seconds was the strangest he has experienced in hockey.
"There was a scramble and I had the puck, and we all heard something – a scream, I guess, but it sounded like a whistle,'' Olson said. "Everyone stopped.
"I could see a ref and (his body language) looked like, 'Why is everyone stopped?' His arm was down, so I was like, 'Might as well,' and I just shot it. Pretty funny. It was awesome.''
Olson's goal furnished insurance. Houston's Reed Humphreys scored with about four minutes to go.
The Rams, who fell to Houston in the championship game last season, capped a 20-0 campaign and beat the Hawks for the third time this season.
"All four of my years at Monroe, Houston has been our biggest rival,'' Olson said. "We knew they'd play us hard. We had some revenge to give back.''
Steele scored on a breakaway three minutes into the game and five minutes later pushed Monroe's lead to 2-0 with a bullet of a wrister from the right circle.
Jankowski was at his best in the third period, when Houston enjoyed 4:22 of continuous power-play time, including a two-man advantage that lasted 1:38. The junior stopped seven shots in that span, which featured three Houston power plays, and the Rams killed all six Hawks power plays.
Reach Doyle Woody at dwoody@alaskadispatch.com, check out his blog at adn.com/hockeyblog and follow him on Twitter at @JaromirBlagr
Greatland State All-Tournament Team
Dylan Steele, F, Monroe Catholic
Sam Fonov, F, Houston
Michael Coiley, D, Monroe Catholic
Grant Olson, F, Monroe Catholic
Reed Humphreys, D, Houston
Nate Jankowski, G, Monroe Catholic