UTICA, NY- Freshman
Shawn Lynch (Syracuse, NY/Ottawa Jr. Senators (CCHL)) scored his first career goal with 17.3 seconds remaining in overtime to lift the Utica College men's hockey team to a 2-1 victory over visiting Manhattanville College in ECAC West Conference action Saturday evening at the Utica Memorial Auditorium.
The Pioneers improve to 11-8-3 overall and 5-5-2 in the ECAC West. Manhattanville, meanwhile, drops to 10-10-1 and 6-5 in the conference. Utica is now tied with the Valiants for second place in the conference standings; however Manhattanville has one game in hand. The Pioneers will look to carry their momentum into a key ECAC West match up at Elmira College next weekend. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday at Elmira's Murray Athletic Center.
The Pioneers opened the scoring halfway through the first period as the puck bounced out from behind the net and sophomore
Trent Samuels-Thomas (West Hartford, CT/Omaha (USHL)) was there to put in the short side for his first goal of the season. Lynch and senior
Nick Miglio (San Antonio, TX/Bismarck (NAHL)) were credited with the assists. The Valiants rebounded just 1:34 later as Charlie Ryde capitalized on a Utica turnover and fired a shot past Utica net minder
Michael Fredrick (Lethbridge, Alberta/Brooks Bandits (AJHL)) for his seventh goal of the year.
Despite back-and-fourth play for the next two periods, neither team was able to get the go-ahead, resulting in the overtime period. Lynch's game winner was the result of a neutral zone turnover, picked up by senior
Joel Wetmore (Horseheads, NY/Lindsay (OJHL)). Wetmore skated down the left hand side and dumped the puck into the opposite corner. Samuels-Thomas came away with it and curled around the top of the circle where he found a streaking Lynch in the slot. Lynch buried the puck into the top right corner to the delight of the 3,507 fans at the Aud.
Fredrick finished with 31 saves, while his counterpart, Tyler Feaver, had 30 stops on the evening. Each team was held scoreless on the power play.