The game was great, great and suspenseful at the same time.”

South Washington’s senior goalie Logan Yannarelly

It was quite a tournament.

The South Washington County Thunderbolts were close to playing for a state championship on Saturday.

On the other hand, they were also a few minutes away from finishing fourth.

Instead, the Thunderbolts grabbed third at state in a wild and woolly win in the third-place finale in the state adapted CI floor hockey championships at Coon Rapids High School Saturday.

The Thunderbolts edged Mankato 10-9 in overtime Saturday afternoon to take the third-place title. Jordan Nde's overtime goal lifted South Washington to the victory. It was South Washington’s best finish since back-to-back runner-up finishes in 2018 and 2019.

“Quite a day,” said Thunderbolts head coach Jeff Figlmiller. “The first game we were trying to get in the championship game and lost to New Prague 13-11. What a game, kids fought hard, they were of us by four or five and we came back and tied it up and then went up by two and they came back and beat us by two.

“Super proud of them,” Figlmiller continued. “I was a little concerned this last game the kids being tired, but they stepped up when they needed to, and we won it in OT. It’s a very exciting day for us. Both games were exciting today. I always tell everybody, if you want to see some fun hockey come see the kids because they do a great job.”

Barely time to catch their breaths after the win, South Washington’s senior goalie Logan Yannarelly and junior wing Logan Curtis then had to hustle off to center stage to receive all-tournament honors.

“The game was great, great and suspenseful at the same time,” said Yannarelly. “But we did play our best and I’m just so happy since it’s been a long time since we did win anything for hockey. So, I was glad I was able to experience this for the first time and also the last. It’s a good way to end the year.”

After a defensive-oriented game through the first two periods, the offense took charge in the third.

The game was tied 2-2 after one period but Mankato took a 4-2 lead after two. That set the stage for a wild and back-and-forth third period in which the two teams combined for 12 goals.

The Thunderbolts tied the game at 4-all with 10:44 to play and then both teams took turns rocking the other the rest of the way. The game was tied at 5-all, 6-all, 7-all with 3:26 to play before Mankato grabbed a 9-7 lead with just 1:51 left. But the Thunderbolts’ Alex Gillespie scored two goals in the space of 20 seconds, the last with just 1:08 remaining in regulation, to send the game into sudden death overtime.

Nde, who lead South Washington in the game with five goals, then scored the game winner at 4:14 in overtime. Gillespie had four goals and Curtis one.

“The passing was extremely good and a lot of the shots were on net so most of them went in,” said Gillespie. “All because of No. 13 Jordan.”

Yannarelly closes his Thunderbolts career with 16 saves.

“I was pretty nervous during overtime though because we didn’t know what to expect,” said Yannarelly. “I knew everybody would have bene proud, especially Herb (Brooks).”

The game was tied 2-2 after one period but Mankato took a 4-2 lead after two. That set the stage for a wild and back-and-forth third period in which the two teams combined for 12 goals.

“Shooting, communicating and passing,” said Curtis when asked what the Thunderbolts did well.

Asked how he was feeling after leading South Washington to the win and third at state, Nde had an honest answer. “I want to go home, I’m tired.”

Undefeated New Prague/Tri City United/LSH/Belle Plaine/Jordan, which edged South Washington Country 13-11 in a semifinal, won the team title Saturday with an 11-8 victory over Stillwater/Mahtomedi.

The Thunderbolts finished 9-3 on the season. The team’s only losses were to state champion New Prague (7-13 and 11-13) and to state runner-up Stillwater/Mahtomedi (5-6).

New Prague 13, Thunderbolts 11

New Prague/Tri City United/LSH/Belle Plaine/Jordan edged the South Washington County Thunderbolts 13-11 in the semifinals.

The match was closer than the 13-7 win by new Prague during the regular season on Feb. 4.

Trystan Seger and Logan Bermel delivering the tying and go-ahead goals, respectively, in the Trojans' 13-11 semifinal win over South Washington.

Thunderbolts 17, Buffalo 4

The South Washington County Thunderbolts breezed into the semifinals with an easy 17-4 win over Buffalo/Monticello/STMA in the quarterfinals Friday.

The win set up a semifinal match against New Prague/Tri City United/LSH/Belle Plaine/Jordan in the semifinals.

The Thunderbolts (8-2) got six goals from junior Logan Curtis and five from sophomore Alex Gillespie. No. 3 South seed South Washington (8-2) captured its first win at the state tournament since claiming the 2019 championship.

All four of the south teams: South Washington, New Prague, Stillwater/Mahtomedi and Mankato, won in the quarterfinals.