WATFORD CITY, ND – Numerous times this season the University of Mary hockey team buried an opponent in the opening period. It was just a matter of determining the final margin of victory. Tonight the Marauders were forced to play a full 60 minutes with the result in doubt until the final horn.
Trailing after two periods for the first time all season, the top-ranked team in the ACHA Division II West Region poll came alive in the final minutes of play to rally past #10 Williston State College 4-2. The Marauders scored four times in the final stanza, including the game-winning goal with just over a minute left in a game played in Watford City, ND.
Down 2-0 after Ryan Gruszka scored a goal in each of the first two periods for the Tetons, the Marauders broke through just 3:48 into the third stanza. Taking a feed from
Alexander Horner,
Logan Kraft scored against his former team to cut the deficit in half. It was his sixth goal of the season.
With pressure growing on the Marauders to pull even as the clock continued to run down the team a man down due to a penalty,
Andrew Heckaman knotted the game 2-2 with a shorthanded goal at 13:58 off a feed from
Jakob Parisien.
Facing the possibility of overtime for the first time, the Marauders instead took advantage of an interference call against the Tetons with 2:31 remaining in the period. With their fourth power play of the night winding down,
Kyler Moore gave the Marauders their first lead with 1:11 left in the game. Moore found the net off assists by
Alex Flicek and Parisien.
The Marauders sealed UMary's most dramatic win of the season 19 seconds later on an empty net goal by
Andrew Huber.
UMary peppered Williston State goalkeeper Angus Laing with 45 shots. The Marauders held a 17-6 edge in shots in the final period.
Lance Knudson earned the win for the Marauders, stopping 28 of the 30 shots he faced.
The two teams combined for 30 minutes of penalties, including 16 by WSC.
The victory completes a weekend sweep for the Marauders, who defeated the Tetons 3-1 at home in Mandan, ND, on Friday.
The Marauders, 21-1 on the season, now travels to Utah for a 4-game series at the Beehive Showcase on Thursday-Sunday, Nov. 15-18, facing Brigham Young, CSU Northridge, Northern Arizona and Grand Canyon.
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