Down two goals after one period felt like no big deal to Greenway/Nashwauk-Keewatin players, who were cracking jokes before the next period started.
The Raiders got the last laugh, too, coming back in the third period to defeat Delano 6-4 in Wednesday's last, and best, Class 1A quarterfinal at Xcel Energy Center.
No. 4 seed Greenway (16-13) scored three times in the third period against No. 5 seed Delano (17-10-2).
"It's a weird feeling to have when you don't feel like you're out of any game at any time," Raiders coach Grant Clafton said. "These guys have a killer instinct. And tonight, they wanted a chance to right a wrong."
Clafton was referring to a 4-3 loss to Delano in December. The rematch started well for the Tigers, who held a pair of two-goal leads early.
In the second period, Greenway's Donte Lawson recorded his 34th goal of the season, then assisted on Ben Troumbly's goal to tie the score 3-3 at the second intermission.
"We stayed positive because we battled through adversity all year," Lawson said.
Kory Dunningan's second goal of the game brought Delano a short-lived 4-3 lead in the third period. Then Greenway's Mitchell Vekich and Christian Miller struck 53 seconds apart for the tying and winning goals, respectively, with Miller scoring with 7:20 to play.
"This was what the No. 4 and No. 5 seed game is supposed to be," Delano coach Gerrit van Bergen said. "It was a battle of wills that was trending toward us and then, unfortunately, trended toward them at the end."
DAVID La VAQUE
