Royals Deliver Lethal Punch in Second OT
SCRANTON, Pa. – Goucher was just :13 away from moving into a tie with Drew for first place in the Landmark Conference this afternoon when Scranton's Kyle Franks tallied an unassisted goal that created a 9-9 tie and sent the Gophers and Royals into overtime.
Royals Deliver Lethal Punch in Second OT
Gophers Take First, Only Lead with 3:21 Remaining
April 4, 2009
SCRANTON, Pa. – Goucher was just :13 away from moving into a
tie with Drew for first place in the Landmark Conference this
afternoon when Scranton's Kyle Franks tallied an unassisted goal
that created a 9-9 tie and sent the Gophers and Royals into
overtime.
Even more agonizing for head coach Kyle Hannan's Gophers was that there was only :01 showing on the clock in the second four-minute OT period when Scranton's Thomas Kornobis stuck the goal that enabled the Royals to rush the field and celebrate a 10-9 victory.
The Gophers (6-4, 1-1 Landmark) trailed 2-0 at the end of the first quarter, 5-2 at halftime and 6-5 through three periods only to take their first lead of the contest on a goal by Sam Fitzpatrick (Littleton, Colo./Arapahoe) with 3:21 remaining in regulation. The go-ahead goal was set up by Matt Lynch (Ivyland, Pa./LaSalle College), who forced a turnover near midfield, came up with the ground ball and fed the ball to Fitzpatrick.
The Royals (5-5, 2-1 Landmark), who finished with a 38-31 edge in shots, took an 8-6 lead on an unassisted goal by Frank with 10:28 remaining in the fourth quarter only to have the Gophers respond with the next three goals. Rory Averett (Ivyland, Pa./Council Rock North) reduced Scranton's advantage to 8-7 when he notched his fourth goal of the contest midway through the period. An extra-man goal by Brian Hoge (Crofton, Md./Arundel) with 6:45 left to play produced an 8-8 tie that lasted for more than three minutes until Fitzpatrick put Goucher ahead for the first and only time.
Chris Stricklin (Germantown, Md./Seneca Valley), who was making his first start of the season in goal for Goucher, preserved Goucher's one-goal lead with a save with less than a minute remaining in regulation and the Gophers successfully cleared the ball, but committed a turnover with :23 remaining that led to Frank's game-tying goal.
The Gophers got off three shots in the first OT, but none were on goal. Stricklin was credited with his eighth save of the game on Scranton's only shot during the four-minute extra session.
The Royals took three shots in the second OT without scoring and only got the opportunity that culminated in Kornobis' game-winning goal because of a failed clear by the Gophers.