The Red River Mudbugs and East St. Paul Gators traded decisive wins to open their HTJHL play-in series, leaving the best-of-three matchup tied 1-1 heading into the deciding game Wednesday, Feb. 18 at 8 p.m. at St. Jean Arena.
East St. Paul controlled Game 1 on Feb. 12, skating to a 9-3 victory behind a four-goal performance from Chris Tataryn and a hat trick from captain Luke Tyslau.
The teams exchanged goals early as Tataryn opened the scoring just 58 seconds in before Red River answered through Gavin Hildebrandt. Caleb Hofer restored the Gators’ lead and Reece Fehr again pulled the Mudbugs even, but East St. Paul seized control in the second period when Tyslau scored a power-play marker and then added the eventual game-winner less than three minutes later.
East St. Paul broke the game open in the third period with five unanswered goals. Tataryn added two more, while Zane Menard and Tyslau also scored as the Gators capitalized on sustained pressure and special teams. Preston Laschyn stopped 25 shots for the win, while Connor Parago made 31 saves in defeat.
Red River responded in Game 2 on Feb. 14 with a tight 4-2 win, powered by a 44-save performance from Parago.
After a scoreless first period, the Mudbugs grabbed the lead on second-period goals by Traeton Peters and Caleb Boulanger. East St. Paul rallied early in the third as Hofer and Tyslau scored 1:48 apart to tie the game, but Griffin Hilderbrand restored the Red River advantage midway through the frame. Reece Fehr sealed the victory with a late power-play marker.
Laschyn made 23 saves for the Gators.
The winner of Game 3 advances from the play-in round.
