Hockey coaches always say if you charge the net, good things will happen.

That’s exactly what Eisenhower’s Ben Miller did, knocking in a rebound with 2:13 left in overtime, giving the Eagles a thrilling 1-0 win over host Romeo on Friday night at Suburban Macomb Ice Rink.

“Our guys have been resilient all year long and I keep thinking that it’s just a matter of time before we get a bounce and have to keep playing the right way,” Eisenhower coach Dave Irwin said. “It was awesome to see. They’ve been working so hard, putting a lot of time and effort into it. It’s good to see them notice the progress that they’re making and getting rewarded for it.”

Miller’s goal, assisted by Bode Farr and Sawyer Hotchkiss, capped a game that featured outstanding defense and goalkeeping from both squads.

“It was a well-played game on both sides. Romeo played their hearts out,” Irwin said. “Our guys played their hearts out. I was joking with my coaches on the bench right before the goal that nobody has probably ever seen a 0-0 high school hockey game.”

Romeo was led by goalie Landon D’Angelo, who made 35 saves in the contest.

“That was a tough one,” Romeo coach Matt Burke said. “I thought Landon played really well. We just kind of ran out of gas there at the end. It was an emotional game with it being our Senior Night. It was a long night and an unfortunate ending.”

Burke said as overtime approached, he kept telling his Bulldogs to dig deep and find a way to score a goal.

“I just told them to keep fighting and bury it,” Burke said. “We had to find a way to score. You can’t win unless you score, and we had chances. We couldn’t capitalize on them. Tip your hat to Ike because they kept coming at us and found one late.”

Eisenhower goaltender Connor Holmes made 26 saves in the shutout win.

“Holmes has been a game-changer for us all year,” Irwin said. “He allows us to take a few more chances when we have him in net. He stood tall for us today.

“I thought Romeo had us on our heels a little bit in the third period and we had to get our feet moving a little bit more,” Irwin added. “We told them to stick to the game plan and be patient. If we do the right things, good things will happen.”

The win improved Eisenhower’s record to 13-8-0 overall, 5-0-0 league. Irwin said his team must improve offensively as the Eagles head toward the state tournament.

“I wish we would score more goals,” Irwin said. “Our defensive zone has been good all year. We have to find a few more pucks in the net, even if it’s a dirty one, which is what we got tonight.”

The loss dropped Romeo’s record to 11-7-2 overall, 3-1-1 league.