Gophers Own Middle Two Periods, Turn Back Panthers

TOWSON, Md. — Goucher turned a three-goal deficit at the end of the first quarter into a 10-6 lead through three periods today by outscoring Ferrum, 9-2, in the middle two stanzas. By the time the final horn sounded, the Gophers had extended their winning streak to five games by turning back the Panthers, 15-8.

The only response Goucher had to the four goals Ferrum put up on the scoreboard in the opening 15 minutes was a man-up goal by Leo Sementilli (Ellicott City, Md./Howard).

The Gophers (5-1) were presented with two more extra-man opportunities in the second quarter and cashed in both times. Just 23 seconds after Pierce Bailey (Miami, Fla./Gulliver Prep) created a 5-5 tie with an unassisted goal, Michael Morgan (Austin, Texas/Westwood) tallied his team-leading 15th goal of the season while the Panthers were a man down to put the home team ahead for the first time.

Ferrum was hit with another infraction with 3:30 remaining before halftime and just four seconds before the penalty was to be released, Jake Zeigler (Buffalo, N.Y./Nichols School) scored to put Goucher up 7-5.

The Panthers (4-4) trimmed the Gophers' lead down to 7-6 before the break with an unassisted goal by Tyler Fullem.

The only scoring by either team for the first 14 minutes of the third quarter was an unassisted goal by Bailey, but in the final 60 seconds, Bailey stuck his third goal of the contest and Owen Demmerly (Medford, N.J./Shawnee) added the first of three he would contribute to the victory, giving Goucher a 10-6 cushion heading into the final period.

Demmerly took over as the team leader in points with today's three-goal, two-assist performance. He has 18 points through the first six games of the season.

Nathan Cain (Wilmette, Ill./Western Reserve Academy) was credited with five caused turnovers, a new single-game career-high for the senior defenseman.

The Gophers are set to play their third game in a span of four days on Sunday. They will take on SUNY-Polytechnic Institute on Beldon Field, beginning at noon.