ST. PAUL - Sometimes the goals are spectacular in overtime. 

Sometimes a player races down a rebound in a far corner of the rink, a mile from the net and behind it, too, but decides to shoot anyway.

And it goes in.

The latter was the case on Saturday as Jace Van Eps’ hustling, heady playing style mixed with a splash of puck luck made for a delightful concoction for the East Grand Forks in its 2-1 victory over St. Cloud Cathedral in the state Class 1A championship game at the Xcel Energy Center.

“Just try to beat the guy to the puck, and then I saw out of the corner of my eye that the goalie was a little out of position,” Van Eps said about his winning goal in overtime. “I thought I could just kind of bank it off his leg there. You now, just kind of see what good could happen.

“It went in our favor, for sure.”

By coincidence, Van Eps scored from just in front of the East Grand Forks student section. That made it all the easier for he and his teammates to immediately throw themselves against the glass, and each other, in celebration.

“That’s something I’ll never forget for the rest of my life,” said Van Eps, a senior forward who ranks second on the team with 14 goals. 

Coaches are asked to start postgame media sessions at the state tournament and  introduce the players they brought for the session. East Grand Forks coach Tyler Palmiscno made one of his introductions thusly: “Jace Van Eps, East Grand Forks hero … for life.”

Coaches often tell players that good things will happen when they get pucks to the net, when they shoot when the opportunity is there. The message gets amplified in overtime, when no shot is considered a bad shot. When just throwing the puck at the net, as Jace Panzer did from the blueline to start the winning play, can lead to some rich rewards.

“I don’t really talk to the kids about throwing it on the net from the corner of the rink, I’ll tell you,” Palmiscno said with a grin. “No, that’s always good, getting pucks on net. (Panzer) did a really good job of shooting it low on net. Like Jace said, he got to a puck first, threw it out front, and we’re taking the championship trophy home.”