MIDDLETON, Wis. – Mikey Kelly’s first trip to state was well worth the wait.

Kelly scored a pair of goals and second-seeded Amery turned back a furious, third-period rally to hold off Somerset/St. Croix Falls 4-3 on Thursday in the Division 2 semifinals of the Wisconsin state boys hockey tournament.

Amery (21-6-1), making its first state appearance after losing in the sectional finals each of the last three seasons, advances to Saturday’s title game at 11 a.m. against top-seeded Tomahawk (24-3), which defeated McFarland 3-2 in the first semifinal.

Amery advanced to state with a 2-1 overtime victory over Hayward in the sectional final, setting up the third meeting this season with Middle Border Conference rival Somerset/St. Croix Falls.

“Three years, we couldn’t get it done. But with our team and our team chemistry, we got it done,” said Kelly, a senior forward. “This is everything I hoped for. And, I am really happy that we got to play a team that we were familiar with, too.”

Kelly put Amery in front in the opening minute, then capped a two-goal spurt to open the third period that put the Warriors up 4-1. Ryland Lathe countered 35 seconds later to make it 4-2 and Marshall Haukom made it a one-goal game with 3:35 remaining.

“Obviously, a tough loss,” Somerset coach Dan Gilkerson said. “A really tough start to a couple of periods that we just started slow.”

Carter Meyer, who finished with 28 saves, stopped three shots in the final 1:18 after the Spartans pulled their goalie.

“It was certainly nerve-wracking,” Meyer said of the heavy-pressure finish.  “I was just hoping it didn’t get tipped.”

The conference rivals knew what to expect from each other. Amery, a co-op that also includes Clayton, Clear Lake and Unity, won the first game 7-0, but Somerset rallied for a 3-3 tie in the final game of the regular season.

“Playing Somerset three times on the season is quite a task,” Amery coach Matt Humpal said. “They’re a great team and coach Gilkerson is a top-notch coach. So, playing them was going to be a challenge. Scoring the first goal was obviously huge. And a 4-1 lead, we knew it wasn’t safe. Somerset’s done that to us before.”

Kelly staked the Warriors to an early lead with an opportunistic rebound goal just 52 seconds in.

“We’ve been practicing that for weeks, going in and crashing it hard,” Kelly said. “It was kind of a lucky go-in, but I was there pretty quickly.”

Sophomore defenseman Josh Albert brought the Spartans even with an unassisted goal with 11:42 left in the second period, eluding a defender in the right circle and punching it past Meyer.

Oscar Troff tallied an unassisted goal with 1:30 left to put Amery up 2-1 heading into the final period.

The Warriors appeared to gain control with a pair of goals to open the third period. Elliot Greene scored unassisted from the right side just 51 seconds into the period to make it 3-1.

Half a minute later, Kemper Lundgren found a wide-open Kelly in the slot to push the lead to 4-1.

Somerset answered immediately when Lathe gathered in a pass from Blake Thiel just outside the right post and punched it in.

The Warriors turned it over in their own end and Haukom converted to make it 4-3.

Junior Carson Belisle had 21 saves for Somerset, which had 16 sophomores and freshmen on its roster. The Spartans also outshot Amery 31-25.

Tomahawk, ranked No. 1 in Division 2 in the state coaches poll, defeated Amery 6-3 in the second game of the season. The Hatchets have won 15 consecutive games.

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