Two minutes into the third period, ISU sophomore David Elliston received a pass at the point from freshman Chris Cucullu. Elliston fired on net, and a seeing-eye puck found its way past the goaltender for a game-tying goal.

But the most memorable aspect of that goal was the secondary assist given to senior Mike Lebler. For Lebler, that assist marked his 200th career point as a Cyclone.

“It felt great, a nice milestone to get,” Lebler said. “My line-mates Cucullu and [Marcus] Malmsten worked all season for me, feeding me the puck. I can’t take all the credit there. Definitely feels good though.”

On the night where a tenured senior reached a milestone, Elliston, a little-known sophomore, got his first goal.

“I’m not a goal scorer, so it makes it even better when I notch one,” Elliston said. “It’s kind of opposite ends of the world there. It was pretty cool. I’ll never forget it.”

The goal tied a hotly-contested game at 2-2 in the third. Colorado State came out with high intensity from the start and tested Iowa State. The Cyclones (19-14-0) had dozens of shots on net, but had one of those nights where the puck hit everything but the back of the net.

The inability to score led to opportunities for the Rams. Iowa State fell behind three times during the game, including 3-2 early in the third, after Colorado State crashed the party with a goal to regain the lead.

But Jordan Pascale scored on a bad-angle shot to tie the game and eventually sent it into overtime. And on a night where Lebler passed a milestone, he put the finishing touches on an unforgettable game with a game-winner.

Shortly into overtime, the puck found its way behind the Rams’ net. Lebler gathered the puck and fired towards the net. And, as ISU associate coach Brian Wierson said, the goalie was out of position.

“I saw Mike make a great play. That’s what I would call a very smart hockey play where you shoot it off the goalie’s pad and into the net,” Wierson said. “That’s a very heady hockey play.”

The crowd erupted and the Cyclone bench quickly cleared and rushed toward their senior points leader. Point No. 200 certainly will have a place in Lebler’s ever-expanding history book. Point No. 201, however, is one that Lebler will probably remember best.

“It’s a nice little thing I can say about my time here. One small thing about coming here, the big thing is the teammates,” Lebler said. “The big thing is the team accomplishment and being around the guys, the camaraderie, but it’s nice to have some personal goals and reach them.”

As for the goal, Wierson said, fluke or not, the red light went off.

“I guess we couldn’t get it past the goalie any other way, so we had to bounce it off his pad,” Wierson said. “So whatever it takes.”