Hudsonville 4 Reeths-Puffer 3 (OT)

The Blog picked another good one to attend tonight, as Hudsonville beats Reeths-Puffer in a 4-3 overtime thriller. The game itself was pretty wide-open, as evidenced by the fact that five of the seven goals were unassisted. H'ville jumped out to a 2-o lead on two goals by senior captain Alex Host, including a shorthanded tally on the first one and highlight reel goal on the second one (see the FOX News clip post above). Reeths-Puffer battled back as Ben Sikkenga scored two unassisted goals -- one on a breakaway and one on the PP -- in less than two minutes time to knot the score at 2-2.

The second period was less eventful, though it did include the first assists of the evening. Host fed sophomore forward Alex DeCorte, who carried the puck into the offensive zone and fed a beauty of a pass to defenseman Parker Host on the doorstep for the 3-2 lead (the whole sequence is capture in the photo album). The score would remain that way until 2:32 remaining in the third period, when RP's Joey Sterrit skated across the middle and buried the equalizer, assisted by Sikkenga. In the extra session, Hudsonville got the game-winner when RP turned the puck over in the defensive zone and Parker Host picked it up, skated in and buried it. Both goalies played well, making 20 saves apiece. Pete Herman got the win for H'ville, while sophomore Eddie Young took the loss for RP.

The win gives Hudsonville 8 points in the OK Tier 2 conference. The Eagles have played each of their conference opponents once, with their only loss coming to Kenowa Hills. "We control our own destiny," Coach Jason Caster told me after the game. Photos are below.