In the span of 85 seconds, Monticello/Annandale/Maple Lake forward Nick Zwack arguably saved his team’s season, then extended it.

The senior lifted the stick of Northfield forward Conner Malecha on the doorstep of the Moose goal with netminder Tyler Klatt out of position, and less than two minutes later scored the game-winning goal with 2.3 seconds left in regulation to send MAML to the Class A state finals.

“I almost fainted, I think,” MAML head coach Eric Nelson said after the game of Zwack’s goal. “Time and time again these kids have proven that you don’t quit until the buzzer sounds.”

Northfield (21-6-3) jumped to a 2-0 lead over the Moose, with Jacob Halvorsen and Malecha tallying goals early in the first and second periods, respectively.

Raiders’ head coach Mike Luckraft admitted that the lead could have tempted his team to start playing in a self-harming, conservative style.

“As we got a couple goal lead, I think we spent a lot more time in our defensive zone than we intended to,” Luckraft said. “It limits your offense when you’re working that hard on one side of the ice.”

The Moose (23-6-1) got on the board at the 10:39 mark of the third period on Casey Chiado’s power play goal, which Zwack said helped alleviate some of the dissatisfaction he and his teammates felt after being stonewalled by Northfield’s Ryan Bielenberg for the majority of the game.

“Frustration was the biggest thing that went through us,” Zwack said. “We were furious on the bench just knowing that we were getting these scoring opportunities and they weren’t falling,” Zwack added.

Bielenberg made 37 saves in the loss, including numerous breakaway and odd-man rush chances for the Moose.

With the win, MAML advances to the Class A championship game, a significant achievement for a team in its first trip the State Tournament.

“What they’re doing, bringing it back to the schools and communities is absolutely huge,” Nelson said. “They’ve done a wonderful job.”