Coburn's Late Goal Helps Union Earn Tie at Niagara
NIAGARA FALLS, NY – Junior defenseman Greg Coburn scored
with 1:16 remaining in the third period to help the No. 11/12 Union
College men's ice hockey team earn a 3-3 tie against Niagara in
front of 1,176 fans at Dwyer Arena.
With the game tied at 2-2 entering the third period, Niagara
forward Greg Arnold (two goals, one assist), gave the Purple Eagles
the lead, scoring on a rebound off an initial shot from Ryan Rashid
at 11:54.
With time winding down in the third period, Union pulled freshman
goaltender Colin Stevens for an extra attacker. Off a faceoff win
by sophomore forward Josh Jooris, sophomore defenseman Mat Bodie
found Coburn with a cross-ice pass. Coburn fired a puck through
traffic that beat Niagara goaltender Cody Campbell to tie the
game.
Sophomore defenseman Shawn Stuart appeared to score the
game-winning goal two minutes into overtime, but his shot from the
point was ruled to have deflected off the inside of the post. Union
continued to apply the pressure in overtime, outshooting Niagara
8-2 in the extra frame, but the Dutchmen were unable to get the
game-winning score.
Union took the lead on their first power play opportunity of the
night midway through the first period.
With Niagara's Scott Arnold in the penalty box for tripping, junior
forward Wayne Simpson fired a pass across the slot to Kelly Zajac,
who fired into an open net from just outside the goal mouth for his
first goal of the season, giving Union a 1-0 lead at 12:03.
The Purple Eagles capitalized on an early power play in the second
period, as sophomore defenseman Mat Bodie was whistled for
interference at :25. Niagara forward Scott Arnold beat Stevens over
the shoulder at 1:58 to even the game at 1-1.
Niagara would take the lead on a shorthanded goal by Marc Zanette
at 9:27. With Chris Lochner in the penalty box for interference,
Arnold led a two-on-one break, firing a shot that Stevens kicked
out to Zannette, who deposited the rebound for a 2-1 Niagara
lead.
With Union still on the power play, sophomore forward Josh Jooris
evened the score 29 seconds later. Freshman forward Max Novak's
initial shot was kicked wide by Campbell to Jooris, who found the
open net on a rebound to even the score at 2-2 at 9:56.
Stevens, making his first career start, stopped 27 of 30 shots,
while Campbell made 45 saves for Niagara. Union went 2-for-5 on the
power play, while Niagara finished 1-of-3 with the man
advantage.
Union will take on RIT tomorrow night at 7:05 p.m. in a contest
that will be televised locally on Time Warner Sports.












