ST. PETER — Mankato West senior forward Jaeger Zimmerman started and ended the scoring with big goals to skate the No. 2-seed Scarlets past No. 3-seed New Ulm 3-1 Saturday in a Section 3A semifinal game at Don Roberts Ice Rink at Lund Arena.
“You need those experienced guys and your leaders to be those guys when the lights are shining bright,” said West head coach Nate Olsen. “[Zimmerman] made sure to hit on a couple of big ones for us. The first one was huge and the last one gave us that confidence to continue to fight.”
The first period was scoreless as both teams played a physical brand of hockey, but it resulted in no goals. It remained scoreless nearly halfway through the second period, until Zimmerman gained control of the puck and led a 2-on-1 break in the New Ulm end. He glided from the left side of the rink to the right and laced a shot past New Ulm goaltender Graham Glaser for the first goal of the game, 8:26 into the second period.
“We knew [the first period] wasn’t pretty,” said Zimmerman. “The guys stuck with it. It was a team effort and I was just the one that got the goal. We knew we just had to stay dialed in.”
That goal was the spark the Scarlets needed. Just 37 seconds later, they were on the scoreboard again. Senior defenseman Sean King delivered a wrister past Glaser from atop the right circle. Sophomore Brodie Cox assisted on the goal and West led 2-0.
“Any time you score a goal, we always talk about the next shift,” said Olsen. “We had a group of guys that were ready to go. They wanted to go immediately. They felt like they were going to score and they did.”
New Ulm scored early in the third period to get back in the game. Junior forward Brody Nordby connected through a slew of defenders just 38 seconds into the period to cut West’s lead to 2-1.
West junior goaltender Mason Schreiber did a great job of maintaining the lead for the Scarlets. He stopped a New Ulm breakaway attempt with 11 minutes remaining to maintain the lead.
“[Schreiber’s] really come a long way in the last 10 games,” said Olsen. “His approach, the steadiness and calmness he provides in our end, he’s really taken a step forward. He’s been excellent for us down the stretch.”
Shortly after Schreiber’s big save, Zimmerman would tally a big insurance goal. Again, he moved from one side of the rink to the other to deliver another laser into the net to give West a 3-1 lead with 7:29 remaining. Schreiber and the Scarlets kept New Ulm scoreless the rest of the game.
West (13-12-2) advances to the Section 3A championship game Wednesday night against No. 1-seed Luverne at 7:30 p.m. at Don Roberts Ice Rink at Lund Arena in St. Peter.