The Austin boys hockey team did something it hadn’t done in a decade when it picked up a big 1-0 overtime win over Mankato West (6-6 overall, 3-2 Big Nine) on the road Thursday.

It was the first win for the Packers over the Scarlets since January of 2006.

The Packers (5-6 overall, 2-4 Big Nine) won the game when Brayden Merritt scored on an assists from Nate Murphy and Kory Potach 20 seconds into the extra session.

“The kids’ effort was phenomenal,” Austin head coach Jason Merritt said. “All week in practice our pace, our effort and our hard work got better. It kind of rolled over into this game and they worked from opening drop of the puck to the last goal. We felt like we out-worked Mankato West tonight and it’s a great win for our program.”

Noah had 24 saves in the win for Austin, which had 18 shots on goal. Merritt wants his team to appreciate the win and use it to push the pace even harder the rest of the year.

“Hopefully the kids see that the harder they work, the more it will pay off for them in the end,” he said. “It’s a great win for them and they deserve it.”