Mentor drops overtime decision to Hudson

Mentor knows well by now it’ll get a dogfight from Hudson.

And if the Cardinals need a reminder, the Explorers have a dog that serves as a mascot that gets its own senior banner at home games.

Feb. 6 in a late-night encounter at Gilmour, it was a tight clash, but Hudson had just a little more bite.

Sam Zulandt netted both goals for the Explorers, including burying the gamewinner in overtime as Hudson prevailed, 2-1.

Mentor coach Paul McKito knew what to expect in the third meeting between the teams this

HUDSON 2, MENTOR 1 (OT)

winter and 23rd since the 2014-15 season.

The Cardinals have had the answer recently, riding an eight-game win streak in the series coming in. But it wasn’t to be on this night.

“It was a tight game. Every Red Division game is,” McKito said. “We know that from the start. I thought we had a lot of push in the third, a couple really good looks. We had them hemmed in their zone a couple times for an extended period.

“We had a chance on the backdoor twice, and we don’t finish. Those things make a difference.”

Mentor took a 1-0 lead 2:14 into the opening period, when Brad Backston threw a wrister on the net from beyond the blue line on the right side.

The Cardinals went on the man advantage midway through the period after an interference penalty, but disaster struck.

Zulandt had a chipper through the neutral zone and skated in for a breakaway, doing well with a confident wrister at the right bar to tie it at 1-1.

That’s where it stayed for a marathon of a dogfight.

In the third, Jack O’Donnell had a good look at a go-ahead tally for Mentor, with an initial wrister turned away at the right bar. A rebound was left for which O’Donnell got his stick down, but Explorers goaltender Ben Cole was up to the task to keep the scoreline level.

In the extra session, Zulandt had the final say, grabbing a rebound and slotting a wrister shortside.

Hudson was overjoyed, celebrating by its home faithful, and one player could be overheard coming off the ice emphasizing, “Three years,” as far as ending a lengthy losing skid to the Cardinals.

“We give up the shorty in the first period, and that’s really something we don’t want to do,” McKito said. “Unfortunate, but it happens.

“It was a great game. The kids worked hard. It was a good battle. It could have went either way. Both teams were generating chances. It happens.”