Posted: Jan 23, 2013
Sophomore Tim Sprague(Plymouth, Mass.) netted a pair of goals, including the tying tally with 4:52 remaining in regulation, and added an assist for three points as Suffolk rallied from a two-goal deficit in the final eight-plus minutes of play to forge a 5-5 ECAC Northeast ice hockey overtime tie with Johnson & Wales Wednesday evening at Steriti Rink.
The host Rams (6-7-4, 3-2-2 ECAC Northeast) trailed 5-3 after senior Trevor Jewell's (Belgrade, Mont.) power play marker staked the visiting Wildcats (7-10-1, 3-3-1 ECAC Northeast) to a two-goal edge with 8:02 remaining, but freshman Carmen Mastrangelo(Wellington, Fla.) sliced Suffolk's deficit in half just 56 seconds later with a power play tally before Sprague evened matters on a feed from sophomore Dan Mazzei(Tewksbury, Mass.).The hosts had a power play over the final stages of regulation and the first 1:37 of the extra session but couldn't net the game-winner, as Suffolk outshot Johnson & Wales by a 6-3 margin in the overtime period in forging the draw.
The squads battled to a 1-1 opening period deadlock before senior Erick Vos(Kalamazoo, Mich.) gave the Wildcats a 2-1 edge just 2:17 into the middle stanza.Junior Charlie McGinnis(Hanover, Mass.) evened matters for the Rams just 1:27 later, but junior Eddie Patterson's (Ciniminson, N.J.) unassisted tally at the 5:41 mark gave the visitors a one-goal cushion that they expanded to 4-2 after two on junior Ian DePasquale's (Buffalo, N.Y.) goal with 6:01 remaining in the frame.Freshman Tyler Murray's (Houston, Tex.) breakaway conversion just 49 seconds into the third period again sliced Suffolk's deficit to one, setting up the back-to-back power play conversions and Sprague's equalizer in the closing minutes of regulation.
Murray and McGinnis each finished with a goal and an assist on the night for Suffolk, which also received single assists off the sticks of junior Jon Stauffer(Lansdale, Pa.) and sophomore Richard Woodworth(Carlisle, Mass.).Patterson paced Johnson & Wales with a pair of goals and an assist to match Sprague's total of three points, while senior Adam Bolotin(Vernon Hills, Ill.) and freshman Aaron Arm(Plantation, Fla.) each registered a pair of assists for the Wildcats, who also received single helpers from sophomores Jason Healey(Goshen, N.Y.) and Alex Porrier(Rutland, Vt.).
Freshman Brandon Smolarek(Chesterfield, Mo.) made 34 saves in the tie for Suffolk, including 23 stops over the first two periods of play, while senior Matt Cooper(Perrysburg, Ohio) made 31 saves in the draw for Johnson & Wales as the Wildcats outshot the Rams by a 39-36 margin for the contest.
Suffolk heads to Marlboro, Mass. on Saturday evening to take on Becker in an ECAC Northeast outing that faces off at 6:10 p.m., while Johnson & Wales travels to Milton, Mass. on Saturday afternoon to take on Curry in an ECAC Northeast clash that begins at 4:35 p.m.