In what was a Mississippi Valley Club Hockey Association finals for the ages, the Freeburg-Waterloo Raging Bulldogs fell just short of their goal, dropping the closest possible three-game series to Granite City.

The Raging Bulldogs scored the most total goals during the regular season (209), while Granite City allowed the least (36). 

The MVCHA finals pitted the league’s leading scorer, Freeburg-Waterloo’s Logan Ganz, against one of the top goaltenders in Granite City’s Michael Atkins.

Freeburg-Waterloo won the MVCHA Varsity East division with a regular season record of 21-2-1. Varsity West division champ Granite City went 21-1-2 in the regular season.

Even with all of that hype, the series didn’t disappoint. 

Game 1 took place last Tuesday in East Alton, with a shootout needed after overtime to determine a winner.  

Granite City pulled out a thrilling 3-2 victory in the five-round shootout. Mathew Bushee made 39 saves in net for the Raging Bulldogs.

“It was one of the best high school hockey games I’ve seen,” Raging Bulldogs head coach Scotty Roberts said.

Ganz and Conner Blair netted the regulation goals for Freeburg-Waterloo.

Game 2 was Thursday night at the McKendree Metro Rec Plex in O’Fallon, with Freeburg-Waterloo fighting for its season. 

Similar to Game 1, the teams were tied after regulation and the game was still not decided after overtime. Down 3-1 after two periods, Freeburg-Waterloo rallied to tie it in the third period.

This one went to an eight-round shootout, with Raging Bulldogs freshman Caiden Anderson netting the game winner. 

“Mathew Bushee stood on his head in net,” Roberts said. “The best game I’ve ever seen, as we were down 3-1 going into the third period!”

Anderson also scored in regulation, as did Ganz and Donovan Knuckles. 

Game 3 was Monday night at the McKendree Rec Plex, with a packed house on hand to witness the league’s concluding contest.

Granite City came out determined from the puck drop, and the Warriors got on the board first at 7:17 of the first period.

The Raging Bulldogs answered just 30 seconds later, showing they were going to put up a fight.

Granite City went on the power play at 5:35 of the first period and cashed in about 40 seconds later to go up 2-1. That remained the score with two periods to go.

Freeburg-Waterloo went on the power play at 11:21 of the second period, but it was Granite City netting a shorthanded goal to go up 3-1.

Desperately needing an answer, the Raging Bulldogs got one via a shorthanded goal by Blair on a breakaway at 9:03 of the second period. 

The Warriors again returned the favor, however, scoring after a turnover in Freeburg-Waterloo’s end to go up 4-2 with 6:23 remaining in the period.

The second period scoring concluded with Freeburg-Waterloo netting a power play goal with just more than four minutes remaining. 

The third period featured two teams in desperation mode, with the action reaching its highest gear. 

The Raging Bulldogs sent their fans into a frenzy at 12:53 of the final period when Spencer Kempf slapped one home from long distance to tie the game at 4-4.

But it was short-lived, as Granite City netted the go-ahead goal just seconds later. 

Freeburg-Waterloo had 12 minutes to try and tie it, but just couldn’t sneak one past Granite City’s netminder. 

Atkins stopped multiple prime scoring chances by the Raging Bulldogs to give his team the championship win. 

Ganz was called for a penalty with just 5:34 left in regulation, further complicating Freeburg-Waterloo’s comeback bid.

In the end, it was the Warriors tossing their sticks and gloves in the air to celebrate while Raging Bulldogs players crumpled to the ice in defeat.

Freeburg-Waterloo out-shot Granite City for the game, but the final score was 5-4 in favor of the Warriors.

“It was a tough one, that’s for sure,” Roberts said. “We dominated the play. We just couldn’t get another goal past Atkins.” 

Despite the loss, Roberts expressed great pride in this year’s squad.

“This team gave it everything they had all season long and I couldn’t be more proud of each and every one of them,” he said.

In addition to Ganz and Knuckles, seniors who played their final game for the Raging Bulldogs were Quinn Sliment, Conner Miller, Dylan Burton, Keary Thompson, Kempf, Shea Suedmeyer and Hunter Randle.

“This team meant more to me than they will ever truly know,” Roberts said. “This group of nine seniors have been tremendous for me over the years.”