Park’s Wolfpack had identical wild 5-4 games last week, winning one and losing one.

Park gave league-leading Cretin-Derham Hall quite the battle before falling Saturday by a 5-4 count at Highland Ice Arena.

The 16th-ranked Raiders scored the game-winning goal at 16:04 in the third period, breaking a 4-all tie.

The two teams battled to a 1-all draw after one period. Cretin took a 3-2 edge into the final period but Park’s Nick Bailey tied the game at 3-all just 44 seconds into the third. The rest of the way was a dogfight as Cretin took a 4-3 lead; Park tied it at 4-all on a goal by Kayden Hoberg at 14:58.

Cretin then scored the game winner a minute later.

Chase Nadler scored the opening goal for the Wolfpack in the first period. Hoberg and Bailey led Park with two assists each, Malachi McMorrow, Jack Kennedy and Emmett Opichka had single assists for Park.

Henry Voss stopped 33 of 39 shots on goal for the Wolfpack. Park had just 20 shots against the Raiders, punching in four.

Park slipped to 4-4 in the Suburban East Conference and to 8-7-1 on the season. Cretin remained undefeated at 7-0 in the SEC and stands 11-5 overall.

The Wolfpack skate against East Ridge (6-9, 3-4) Wednesday at Cottage Grove Ice Arena, starting at 7 p.m.

Park 5, Woodbury 4 (OT)

It was a wild back-and-forth affair Wednesday as Park hosted the Woodbury Royals in Suburban East Conference boys' hockey.

But in the end, it was a 5-4 dramatic Park victory over the visiting Royals.

“I give all props to my teammates,” said Malachi McMorrow who scored with 7:31 of the overtime. “I kind of got in deep and got it right out front and I was just there and got a lucky rebound.”

Woodbury took leads of 2-0 after the first period and led 3-0 early in the second as Park played one of its worst periods of the season in the first period. Only to follow with one of its best periods in the second.

Park scored four consecutive goals in the second to take the lead, Goals by Chase Nadler, Kayden Hoberg and Jaxon Yates brought the Wolfpack back to a 3-all tie, then Nick Bailey scored at 16:14 in the second for a 4-3 Park lead.

“Coach kind of yelled at us and we were kind of like, we’ve got to wake up and just get at it, keep forechecking, got to go harder,” said McMorrow.

That’s where the game stood for most of the third quarter. But Woodbury’s John Eschweiler scored at 15:38 of the third to send the game into overtime.

Then after the Royals tied the game at the end of the third, Park’s heroics won in in overtime on an even strength shot by McMorrow.

Senior goalie Henry Voss stopped 25 of 29 shots for a .862 success rate. Park outshot the Royals 34-29.

“We came out slow, very slow and we completely turned it around second period, getting those goals and just worked hard throughout the third and bettered our chances and really digging in and practicing our values and scheme,” said Voss. “(We) turned it around. That first period, even out coaches said that it was worst period and out second period was our best. We found that good medium in the third and that’s how you win a game. You go down for 0-3 to 4-3 to 4-4 to overtime winner that’s all you can ask for.

“We got yelled at pretty good,” Voss noted between the first and second periods. “A little bit of piss and vinegar and that fueled us.”

“Coach (Kori) Pearson gave them a good pep talk and we just showed a little bit of video between first and second period just to show them again how to do it the right way,” said Park head coach Jeff Corkish. “Sometimes kids just get off, right, and it’s hard to get back into that swing of things. And sometimes you just have to see to trigger their brain, and it was all them. They decided – we didn’t add anything new. We just played the way we practice.

“In the first period we weren’t playing the way we practice,” Corkish continued. “And if you’re three steps off, that’s what it looks like. If you’re three steps ahead well the second period, that’s what it looks like. It was a night and day difference. That’s how fast a team can go from being down to being up and again the game is all about competing. When you play teams that are highly skilled, and you play them that hard you have a chance. When you play teams that are highly skilled, and you play them soft they’re going to score on you like Woodbury did. They’re going to take advantage of those opportunities, and we weren’t just very good at all in the first period. We had to wake up and luckily, we did.”

Hoberg and Jack Kennedy had two assists each to lead Park. Owen Mordorski and Nadler had one each.

Park went to 4-3 in the SEC and 8-6-1 on the season. Woodbury fell to 1-5 and 4-9-1.