RIT Rallies to Deny Saints First Win
RIT scored an extra attacker goal to tie the game with nine
seconds to go in regulation and then won it with a goal just 14
seconds into overtime, denying St. Lawrence University a chance for
its first win of the 2011-12 hockey season with a 6-5 win before a
sellout crowd of 10,556 at the Blue Cross Arena in Rochester
Saturday night.
The Tigers, now 1-0-1 pulled even when junior wing Adam Hartley
picked up a rebound of a shot by senior Cameron Burt and rifled it
past Saint goalie Matt Weninger from the top of the blue at 19:51.
RIT then won the draw to start the extra period and Adam Mitchell
split the Saint defense, walked in on Weninger and tucked the game
winner into the net at 0:14 of the extra period.
"There were too many coverage mistakes, and RIT was able to cash in
on them," said Saint associate head coach Mike Hurlbut. "We had a
chance to take them and the crowd out of the game, but they came
back with the power play goal to stay in it in the third and then
we couldn't clear it with a couple of chances against the extra
attacker.
"We've got a couple of weeks without a game and a lot to work on in
that stretch."
The Saints, now 0-4-0, and idle until Nov. 4 when they start league
play at home against Union, had their best offensive production in
a two-game set with Michigan and RIT, scoring eight times, but
surrendered 16 goals in the two games.
RIT opened the scoring just 3:23 into the game as senior
defenseman Daniel Spivak fired a hard shot from the point which
Saint goalie Matt Weninger kicked out, but Cameron Burt was alone
in the faceoff circle and snapped the rebound back under the
crossbar.
The Saints tied it just under five minutes later, scoring their
first shorthanded goal of the season as Jacob Drewiske and Kyle
Flanagan went in on a two-on-one with Flanagan burying Drewiske's
perfect goal mouth pass for his fourth of the season at 8:29.
The Saints dominated the start of the second period and took a 2-1
lead on the power play as Flanagan walked out from below the right
faceoff circle, stick-handled through a pair of defender and tucked
the puck past Tiger goalie Shane Madolora at 5:05. Greg Carey and
George Hughes assisted on the power play goal.
The momentum swung back to the Tigers after the Saints nearly
scored their second shorthander of the game. Drewiske was stopped
twice by Madolora and the Tigers converted when Burt was all alone
at the side of the net and slammed home a pass out of the corner by
Brad McGowan at 10:16 on the power play. RIT then took a 3-2 lead
when Bryan Potts got behind a Saint defender and tucked the puck
between Weninger's pads at 13:43.
The Saints came back with their second power play goal of the game
at 19:03 as sophomore Kyle Essery scored his second with a
backhander on the rebound off an initial shot by Rick Carden.
Jeremy Wick also assisted on the goal which came with one second to
go in the man advantage.
Freshman Patrick Doherty staked the Saints to a 5-3 lead in the
third period, scoring a pair of goals just 1:41 apart. The first,
his first collegiate goal, came as he drove the net and shrugged
off a defenseman before banking a shot off the goalie's pads at
5:09. The second was a power play goal as he one-timed a pass from
Carey with Flanagan also assisting at 6:50.
The Tigers got one back on a power play as Potts scored his second
of the night as he came out of the corner and put one inside the
far post at 8:46. The Saints then had a five minute power play, but
took a penalty while on man advantage and could not increase the
advantage.
Then came the extra attacker goal and the quick overtime score and
the chance for the first win of the season evaporated.












