Ben Haugo couldn’t tell you how many goals he’s scored this season.

The Litchfield/Dassel-Cokato senior defenseman can’t even say with authority how he scored the biggest goal of his life. Not that he cares about the particulars.

“All that matters is LDC scores,” he said after his power-play goal in overtime lifted the Dragons to a 7-6 Class 1A, Section 3 championship victory over Luverne on Wednesday in St. Peter in front of a capacity crowd of about 1,500 at Gustavus Adolphus College’s Lund Center.

For the record, Haugo has 15 goals this season. None more important, of course, than the one that gave Litchfield/Dassel-Cokato its first state tournament appearance since 2008.

“Their goalie gave out a juicy rebound and the puck just found the back of the net,” Haugo said. "I don’t know.”

Haugo’s goal came just more than two minutes into the extra session and after Luverne defenseman Jim Erickson had been called for hooking. The Dragons applied heavy pressure throughout the power play, repeatedly firing second- and third-chance shots at besieged Cardinals goaltender Kaden Ericson.

“There was a rebound, a shot and then another rebound,” Litchfield/D-C coach Chris Olson said. “(Haugo) just kind of toe-dragged it and drove it. I have no idea how it went in.”

Olson certainly wasn’t concerned about the details, either. He’s just happy to be coaching the team. And having his two sons at his side while he does it.

Just more than two years ago, Olson and sons Ty and Braden were returning home from a University of Minnesota men’s hockey game when they were involved in a horrific head-on crash. Chris suffered two fractured ankles. Braden, who was 9 at the time, broke his leg and nose and had to have small intestine surgery. Ty, who was 7, had a traumatic brain injury and required spinal cord surgery.

These days all three Olsons are doing well and squeezing every last drop of enjoyment out of hockey. Chris calls Ty his assistant coach and said on Wednesday afternoon Braden was in a cranky mood after school because, “he was so focused on Luverne.”

“We get to be a part of this because of what (Litchfield’s players) have done,” Olson said with Ty at his side. “It just means so much to be a part of it.”

For their part, Dragons players have adopted Ty and Braden as their rink-rat brothers. Many of them address Ty as “coach.”

“They are a joy to have around the rink all the time,” Haugo said. “And they are just super pumped about everything.”

The one-goal victory was the third in as many sectional games for the Dragons (20-8-0), who had lost in the section quarterfinals each of the past three seasons.

“We have persevered through these whole playoffs,” Haugo said. “And a lot of that comes from coach and his kids coming back from that accident, just seeing how they persevered through it.”

Luverne (22-6-0) looked to have the victory in hand after senior Chaz Smedsrud completed his hat trick late in the third period. But senior Jared Pedersen’s goal with 35 seconds left (after the Dragons had pulled goaltender Dylan Lemke was pulled in favor of an extra skater) forced the overtime session. Sophomore standout Jaxon Nelson also scored three goals for the Cardinals, giving him a modern-era record 78 for the season.

“It think we got a bit tired at the end there,” Luverne coach Kullen Schroht said. “We ran out of gas.”

Ben Haugo’s power-play goal 2 minutes, 8 seconds into overtime vaulted No. 2 seed Litchfield/Dassel-Cokato to a 7-6 victory over top-seeded Luverne on Wednesday night in front of a capacity crowd of about 1,500 in St. Peter at Gustavus Adolphus College’s Lund Arena.

Haugo, a senior defenseman, drilled a rebound shot through heavy traffic to end a wild flurry of Dragons’ shots on Cardinals goaltender Kaden Ericson. The goal sparked a high-decibel celebration in the stands on the Litchfield/Dassel-Cokato side of the rink as jubilant Dragons’ players mobbed Haugo and each other after earning the school’s first trip to the state tournament since 2008.

The Dragons (20-8-0) needed a dramatic finish in regulation just to reach overtime. Senior forward Jared Pedersen scored with 35 seconds left after goaltender Dylan Lemke was pulled in favor of an extra skater.

Luverne (22-6-0) lost despite getting hat tricks from top scorers Chaz Smedsrud, a senior, and Jaxon Nelson, a sophomore. Smedsrud’s goal with 7:51 remaining made the score 6-5 and seemingly put the Cardinals in control, but Litchfield/Dassel-Cokato dominated play most of the rest of the way in regulation.

The game started in wild fashion, foreshadowing the frenetic finish. The Dragons’ David Raisanen scored the first of his two goals nine seconds into the opening period, only to have Luverne’s Nelson tie the score at 1 just 40 seconds later.

Litchfield/Dassel-Cokato outshot Luverne 41-38. Ericson had 34 saves for the Cardinals while Lemke stopped 32 shots for the Dragons.

Nelson finished the season with a modern-day record 78 goals. Only Eveleth’s John Mayasich, who is believed to have scored more than 80 goals in a season twice in the 1950s, has topped Nelson’s totals.

Smedsrud finished the season with 106 points for the second straight year. His 357 career points ranks third all time, putting him behind only Little Falls’ Ben Hanowski (405) and Red Wing’s Johnny Pohl (378).

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