Simley and Mahtomedi were scheduled to play hockey at the St. Croix Valley Recreation Center Friday night.
But it was no surprise that instead a game of chess broke out between the two Metro East Conference teams, who probed for weaknesses in their opponent while defending their king — err, goal — from attack.
"I told our girls in between periods that it was a chess match," Simley coach Tom Patnode said. "Whoever makes the first mistake, [you knew] the other team would capitalize."
But the contest ended in a 0-0 overtime stalemate between the two evenly matched teams.
How even? The shots favored Mahtomedi by a narrow 22-18 margin thanks in part to a Simley penalty in overtime that allowed the Zephyrs to outshoot the Spartans 5-2 in the extra session.
Simley and Mahtomedi played to a scoreless draw at the St. Croix Valley Recreation Center Friday night.
The result maintains a third-place tie in the Metro East Conference standings as each team now has nine points in league play.
The contest was as tight as the final score would indicate as the final shot count was 22-18 in favor of the Zephyrs.
Senior Lauren Hamme finished with 18 saves for Mahtomedi, which is ranked No. 10 in the Class 1A coaches’ poll. The Zephyrs (10-6-2, 4-3-1) are unbeaten in six of their last seven games.
Senior Hailey Ries stopped all 22 shots she faced for the Spartans (8-8-1, 4-2-1).
The MN Girls' Hockey Hub poll is for entertainment purposes only.