(
BOXSCORE)
FREDONIA, N.Y. -- Fredonia State's bid to spring an upset on the top-ranked Oswego Lakers ended abruptly in a 5-4 SUNYAC overtime loss at the Steele Hall Ice Arena.
The Blue Devils trailed 4-0 at one point, only to rally all the way back. A goal by
Mat Hehr with 5.3 seconds left in regulation forged a 4-4 tie and set off a wild celebration by the Fredonia State players and their fans.
Their glee was muted when Fredonia State's Bradley Nunn was assessed a roughing penalty at the end of regulation. That enabled the Oswego to start the overtime with a man-advantage. The Lakers, ranked No. 1 in NCAA Division I by USCHO.com, avoided the upset on a one-timer from the left circle by Paul Rodrigues.
The win lifted the Lakers to 17-2 overall and 10-0 in the SUNYAC. The Blue Devils fell to 9-10 and 4-6.
Oswego took a 2-0 lead in the first period on goals by Stephen Mallaro and Ian Boots, the first one on a power play after Fredonia State's
Dave Ridos was called for slashing off a faceoff. The Lakers added to their lead with goals by Tyler Leinbrock and Owen Kelly early in the second period.
Kelly's goal prompted Fredonia State head coach
Jeff Meredith to switch freshmen goaltenders, starter
Mark Friesen leaving and
Jeff Holloway entering the game at 7:01 of the second period. The change and a goal by
Billy Sanborn at 17:18 began a shift of momentum that carried over into the third period.
The Blue Devils converted a 5-on-3 man-advantage with a goal by
Bryan Ross at 5:10 of the third period.
Andrew Christ cut the deficit to 4-3 at 8:56. Then, with Holloway off the ice in favor of an extra attacker, Hehr netted the equalizer from a bad angle to the right of Oswego goaltender Paul Beckwith with 5.3 seconds in regulation.
The penalty on Nunn as time expired took some air out of the Blue Devils' balloon. The Lakers won the ensuing faceoff to start overtime and kept the puck in their end before Justin Fox slid a pass from the right circle across ice to the opposite circle, where Rodrigues was stationed. His rocket blast was into the back of the net before Holloway had a chance to cover the far corner.
Beckwith finished with 28 saves while improving to 13-0 this season. The four goals scored by Fredonia State are the most Beckwith has allowed in one game this season. He entered the game with a 1.56 goals-against average, tops in NCAA Division III.
Holloway finished with 15 saves in relief, while Friesen was credited with 13 saves.
