MONROE — The Cheesemakers led third-ranked McFarland at 1-0 through the first period, and 2-1 in the second. Even until the final 10 seconds, Monroe was a fraction of an inch away from stealing one of the most unlike points in the standings. Instead, Badger Conference leader McFarland (15-2-1, 10-2) scored twice in the first three minutes of the third to get the lead, and put it away with an empty-netter with 8.7 seconds left to secure the win Jan. 28 at SLICE in Monroe.

“I told the guys this is exactly how we need to play,” said Monroe coach Barry Einbeck. “We communicated better tonight. We moved the puck better. We attacked better.”

The Spartans hold a 2-point advantage over Madison Edgewood (13-6, 9-0) in the current standings, but Edgewood still has three more league games to play. Monroe (7-13, 5-6), meanwhile, is in the middle of the pack with 10 points. 

Cameron Newcomer opened the scoring with an unassisted goal with just 1:27 left on the clock in the first period. McFarland evened it four minutes into the second, but Patrick Alt continued his ascent up the program record books with a power play goal just 2:25 later. Brody Goode and Brady Spotts assisted.

“We knew coming in it would be a tough game. We had to come up with a little bit more of an edge on our shoulders,” Alt said.

McFarland’s Addison Pennekamp tied it again at 2-2 with 7:02 left in the second. The Cheesemakers had a rare penalty shot opportunity. Newcomer drew a penalty on a breakaway, but McFarland goalie Steve Hoang nixed the free 1-on-1 attempt.

In the third, the two teams traded goals over the first three minutes. McFarland scored 55 seconds into the period, but Alt tied it at 3-3 just 50 seconds later with an assist by Spotts. After another 60 ticks, Pennekamp scored his third goal to secure the hat trick and victory for the Spartans.

“Every time they responded with a goal, we came right back and didn’t quit. I couldn’t be more proud of how they played tonight,” Einbeck said.