The East Greenwich/Toll Gate Avengers defeated the Portsmouth Patriots, 4-3, in overtime to win the Rhode Island Interscholastic League Division II boys hockey championship. Jack Kiernan, named tournament MVP, scored the game-winning goal just 35 seconds into overtime.

Van Eps scored from a sharp angle 1:46 into overtime, and East Grand Forks beat St. Cloud Cathedral 2-1 in the Class A boys hockey final at Xcel Energy Center. Noah Schindele made 37 saves and Cooper Hills also scored for the Green Wave, state champions for the first time since back-to-back titles in 2014 and 2015.

East Grand Forks, tucked up in Minnesota’s northwest corner, is about a five-hour drive from the Twin Cities. But an outsider at Saturday’s Class 1A boys hockey championship game might have thought it was just down the road.

EAST GRAND FORKS, M.N. (Valley News Live) - A championship celebration took place for the East Grand Forks High School hockey team on Sunday, March 9.

East Grand Forks appeared to be headed for a 1-0 win in this title game until Cathedral freshman Bo Schmidt tied it when his shot deflected off of goaltender Noah Schindele's glove and into the net. The goal came with the Crusaders on a power play.

Senior Jace Van Eps was the overtime hero, scoring on a sharp-angle shot along the goal line after capitalizing on a rebound chance.

The first of two Minnesota high school state boys hockey championships will get under way on Saturday afternoon. St. Cloud Cathedral takes on East Grand Forks for the Minnesota State High School League Class A championship from the Xcel Energy Center from St.