ST. PETERS • Heading into play Monday, Eureka forward Ryan Edwards had scored just two goals in limited action during the Wildcats' first nine Mid-States Club Hockey Association games.
So consider his performance in Eureka's 5-3 win over Francis Howell North at the St. Peters Rec-Plex making up for lost time.
Edwards scored his team's first three goals to propel the Wildcats to victory. The win was Eureka's fifth in succession.
"This felt good because I'd only been in three games," Edwards said. "They (Howell North) are a very good team, so that made this feel (even better)."
Three times, Howell North jumped to a lead only to have the Wildcats come charging back over the course of the first two periods.
And each of those times, it was Edwards lighting the lamp.
"The boys came into the game, and they were loose," Eureka coach Kevin Markovitz said. "We were missing a lot of guys. Three of them called in sick right before the game, so we only had eight forwards. I told them when you only have this many guys you can get into a groove. It's on the ice, off the ice. You don't even really have time to think out there."
Ryan Krakosky opened the scoring almost midway through the first and Daniel Rosse added goals two and three late in the first and nearly midway through the second period for Howell North (6-3).
But each time, there was Edwards adding one to the scoreboard for the Wildcats (5-3-2).
The game remained tied into the third period when Eureka took control of the game.
Tommy Kueser scored the game-winning goal 3 minutes, 28 seconds into the third period and Zach Sutter provided the insurance goal on an assist from Edwards less than three minutes later.
The tough ending left a bad taste in the mouth of one of the Knights.
"We just don't have enough depth, I don't know," Rosse said. "We just hit a wall."
Eureka outshot Howell North 26-24.
Alex Reichle made 21 saves to earn the victory for Eureka.
Osborne's 21 saves weren't enough for Howell North as he suffered the loss.
"We were solid in our defensive zone and our goalie played very well," Markovitz said. "As long as we were smart about getting the puck out of the zone, we knew we could finish off the game."
