Hoosiers win 1st hockey championship

Adam Federman doesn't score very many goals. In fact, before this weekend, the senior defenseman was still looking for his first of the year.\nBut on the rare occasion that he does dent the twine, the senior defenseman usually makes it one to remember.\nIn the Great Midwestern Hockey League tournament championship Saturday, Federman's fluttering wrist shot in overtime barely trickled past Miami goaltender Ben Winkler and found the back of the net, instantaneously becoming one of the most memorable goals in franchise history. \nYou'll have to excuse the hero if he's a little hazy on the details.\n"Where do I start? It's a blur," Federman said after the 4-3 victory over Miami University (Ohio). "There were bodies flying all over the place, and I was just thinking 'Get that thing on net.' I wound up, let it go. Everybody started cheering, but I had no idea what happened.\nShocking, maybe, but captain Tim McMahon wasn't shocked about the way Federman scored.\n"It was kind of a typical Federman shot, a butterfly that just happened to find its way in," McMahon joked. "It felt great, especially against Miami. I'm happy for Adam."\nBad karma surrounded the Hoosiers as they went into overtime facing Winkler, the same goaltender who beat them in overtime last year to take home the league championship. \n"Early in the game, he's stopping all of those incredible chances and I'm thinking, 'Oh man, are we really going to go through this again?'" coach Rich Holdeman said. "We said it in the locker room, it's going to be something ugly that's going to be the difference. The way Winkler was playing, we weren't going to get anything easy."\nThe victory gave the Hoosiers the first championship in the GMHL's history. But the overtime goal itself was the culmination of a nerve-wracking day for Holdeman. Following a first-round bye, the Hoosiers were paired against the one GMHL team that they hadn't beaten this season, a Michigan University squad that was coming off an impressive first-round victory over Ferris State. In an attempt to spark some offense, Holdeman moved first-line mainstay Dan Hauck to the third unit with Ed Karasek and David Dassell, with Rhys Anderson filling in for Hauck with the highly-offensive Bryan Grant and Brandon Phillips on the first line.\nSenior Gordy Haggard had one of his best games and fueled the Hoosier offense with a pair of power-play goals.\nCharlie Pulley's 41 saves fueled the victory, as well, bailing the Hoosiers out of a possible second-round defeat.\nPulley's strong play continued into the championship game, where he received a little more help from the Hoosier offense.\nHoldeman's line tinkering paid off in the second period as his top unit finally got on the scoreboard in the form of Grant's wraparound goal to tie the score at 2-2. Hauck's line scored next when Karasek gave the Hoosiers a 3-2 lead early in the third.\nMiami's Matt Mole tied the game late, leading to a goaltender's duel between Pulley and Winkler. This year, it was Pulley's turn to shine.\n"It really hasn't sunk in yet," Pulley said. "It was overwhelming at first; we've had such a history of losing to this team in particular. It's kind of a relief to get rid of that jinx and go on to the national tournament."\nPulley's reaction to Federman's miracle shot was somewhat different from his teammates.\n"I knew it was going in. I just had a feeling," he said. "It always seems that in overtime, it's a garbage goal. As soon as I saw the puck start to flutter, I knew it had a good chance."\nAnd a chance for a little payback.\n"We felt like we owed these guys," said Karasek, a senior. "They've been beating us in big games for my entire career, three years here. We gave them what they deserved"