Geiser's OT goal lifts De Smet past Kirkwood, into Challenge Cup final

De Smet senior Mitch Geiser’s goal with 3:47 left in sudden death overtime  Saturday lifted the Spartans to a 1-0 win over Kirkwood in a Mid-States Club Hockey Association Challenge Cup "semifinal" at Centene Community Ice Center.

De Smet (20-7-2) will face defending champion St. Louis U. High (17-5-5) for the title in a rematch of last season’s championship game at 8:30 p.m. Friday at Centene.

Geiser corralled a loose puck at center ice, brought it into the Kirkwood zone and blasted a slap shot from the top of the right circle into the upper right corner of the net.

“I was tired, it was a long shift,” Geiser said. “It was late in the overtime. I fumbled the puck and I just ripped it as hard as I could. I saw the goalie drop early and he gave me that corner.”

The goal is the latest of postseason highlights for Geiser, who also scored a key goal the night before to help the Spartans beat Chaminade to stay alive.

Geiser had just a single assist in 18 regular season games, but has three goals and an assist in seven playoff games.

“From his freshman year, he’s had it,” De Smet coach Casey Ott said of Geiser’s penchant for playoff scoring. “His freshman year against SLUH (he scored twice). As a senior, he’s a guy you want out there.”

De Smet lost 6-2 to Kirkwood in the second round of the Challenge Cup's championship bracket Feb. 15 but beat Marquette, Chaminade and Kirkwood in elimination games on three consecutive days to earn a spot in the title game.

Geiser admits that he thrives under the playoff pressure.

“Playoffs are different,” Geiser said. “They make you feel different. They give you energy. They give you heart. It’s just a better time with the team on the ice.”

Brady Govero made 28 saves for the Spartans, several of the spectacular variety.

His counterpart, Branson Appelman, did the same with 28 stops of his own for Kirkwood (19-6-3).

“It’s hard to beat a team five times in the year and this is our fifth game against them this year,” Kirkwood coach Mark Fischer said. “We have beaten them in the previous four and that’s tough. I think this year more than any other we’ve had a ton of buy in from the kids and I can’t thank them enough.”

After a sluggish start, both teams got high quality chances in the final seconds of the first period.

Appelman got his pad on a breakaway from De Smet’s Jackson Fox. A bouncing puck was loose in the crease as players from both teams took swipes at it before the Pioneers cleared it.

Moments later Govero made a stick save on a point-blank chance from Kirkwood’s David Vitt.

“I’m just having fun,” Govero said. “Nothing really goes through my head. I’m not really worried out there. The whole time I was just playing the game.”

Govero again came up big with a pad save to thwart a Kirkwood rush early in the second period and again used his pad in the period’s final seconds to rob Vitt of a goal.

Appelman made several tough saves during a pair of De Smet power plays to keep the game scoreless.

“He’s been the backbone for us the entire season, the last three seasons,” Fischer said. “We’ll have him back next year and he’ll do the same thing. That’s status quo for him.”

De Smet’s players raised their arms midway through the third period, but the referee had already whistled the play dead after it looked like Appelman had control of the puck.

Appelman came up big again late in the third with a sprawling save on a Nicholas Salthouse chance for De Smet and Govero was able to smother an Alexander Cameron blast with nine seconds left.

Govero somehow managed to keep the puck out of the net during a frenzied scramble right before Geiser’s goal in overtime.

De Smet expects a similar test in the championship game.

“It’s going to be a battle,” Geiser said. “I think we can do it if we play with heart like we did in that game.”