CHESTERFIELD • Francis Howell Central coach Tom Mueller had a feeling headed into Saturday's Challenge Cup semifinal with SLUH at the Hardee's Iceplex.
He called sophomore forward Brennan Anderson over to the bench just prior to the start of the game to reinforce just how important he was going to be to the Spartans.
Little did Mueller know how right he was.
Anderson scored the first goal of the game as the Spartans defeated the Junior Billikens 3-0.
Howell Central (22-3-2) will now play on the big sheet of ice at Scottrade Center on March 8 at 8 p.m. in the Challenge Cup final against CBC (28-2-1).
After advancing to the semifinals the last three seasons, Howell Central finally broke through to the title game.
With just under a minute left in the second period, Anderson picked up a loose puck at the edge of his own zone and carried in on SLUH goaltender Justin Ragland, whom he then beat with a stick side shot with 31 seconds left to make it 1-0.
The goal was a tremendous pick-me-up for a Spartans' squad that was outshot 29-11 at that point, even though the game remained scoreless.
That, in large part, was due to Howell Central's Zachary Grabowski standing on his head in goal.
"They were the team that got all of the bounces tonight," SLUH coach Charles Busenhart said. "We got a lot of shots off early, but we had no one there to follow it up. We outshot them and out played them but they outlucked us. This is the first time we've been shutout all season."
The third period swung the game on its ear.
While Grabowski continued to stonewall the Junior Bills, the Howell Central offense came to life.
With 11 minutes and 12 seconds to play, Howell Central's Jalen Krogman picked up a rebound, moved in behind the SLUH net and scored on a wrap around shot to make it 2-0.
"Chase (Rey) made a great forecheck and took the puck from the kid and he took a shot," Krogman said. "It went behind the net, so I tried wrapping it and somehow it went in."
With 4:33 remaining, Howell Central's Adam Otten took a whack at a rebound and slammed it home for the 3-0 lead.
The goal was the icing on the cake for Otten and the Spartans.
"The puck was in the air and I just kind of swatted at it," Otten said. "This is huge. We've come so close the last three or four years, to reach the semifinals. This year, we are finally making it and it's huge."
This marks the first time in four seasons that Howell Central has made it out of the Challenge Cup semifinal round.
In the last three years, CBC had ended Howell Central's season twice and SLUH had done it once.
This season, though, Howell Central is moving on.
"This feels great," Grabowski said. "These guys on this team have all worked so hard and it shows."
"This is our first opportunity," said Mueller of the finals. "We're going to have to get by (any jitters). We're going to have to come out ready to play."
SLUH ends its season at 19-7-1.
