MARYLAND HEIGHTS, MO – An epic battle between the old guard and the new kid on the block tilted towards the fresh face as the University of Mary outlasted Florida Gulf Coast University 3-2 in triple overtime in the 2022 American Collegiate Hockey Association Men's Division 2 championship game. The championship is the second straight for the Marauders, who also won the 2021 tournament.
In just their fourth season of existence, the Marauders are just the fifth team to win back to back ACHA M2 titles. The last team? Florida Gulf Coast. The Eagles won titles in 2016, 2018 and 2019. There was no tournament held in 2020 due to the pandemic, which was the Marauders first year of eligibility to compete for the title.
Just as UMary had to wait an extra season to compete for a national title, the Marauders had to wait until a third overtime to win their second title. In a game that started just after 7 pm and ended at 10:56 pm,
Seth Cushing ended the Marauders long wait with a goal 103:21 into the game, jamming home a loose puck 3:21 into the third extra session to end the longest contest in team history.
The Marauders and Eagles played a scoreless first period but both teams generated scoring opportunities. UMary missed on a couple early chances while Florida Gulf Coast held a 14-13 edge in shots.
In similar fashion to last year's championship game, the Marauders
Tanner Eskro opened the scoring in the second period. With UMary on a rush,
Derek Dropik slipped a pass to Eskro, who's initial blast from the slot missed the net. After Eagles netminder Wesley Swenson tuned away a couple scoring chances, Eskro knocked home a loose puck into a wide open net for a 1-0 UMary lead at 3:25.
The Eagles rallied back to tie the game at 12:47 on a Jack Cohen goal. FGCU then took advantage of a Marauders penalty as John Laviolette tallied a power play goal at 16:09 to move ahead 2-1. It was the first time the Marauders had trailed all week.
Early in the third period
Johnny Witzke found the equalizer on a power play. Skating with a man advantage, Witzke was left alone atop the left circle. Close to the boards, Witzke lasered a shot into the upper right corner of the net at the 3:30 mark. It was the final goal for nearly three more full periods of play.
The goaltenders then grabbed control of the game. UMary netminder
Kyle Hayden and Swenson both faced well over 50 shots in the game and each weathered an intense storm.
The Eagles carried the play in the opening session of overtime but failed to solve Hayden. Unofficially FGCU was credited with a 64-39 edge in shots on goal through 80 minutes.
The tide began to turn the Marauders way in the second overtime. Showing more energy than FGCU as the period progressed, UMary massively outshot FGCU 18-4.
That momentum carried into the third overtime session. With the Eagles defenders facing intense pressure from the Marauders, a clearing attempt was intercepted by
Alex Flicek before leaving the zone. UMary's all-time leading scorer whistled a shot high that was picked up on the left side of the net by Cushing. Skating behind the net to the right side of the crease, Cushing's first attempt to jam home the puck failed but his second attempt was true, setting off a wild bench-clearing celebration after both teams gave their all for 103:21 of game time.
The game-winning goal was the sixth in 10 ACHA tournament games for Cushing. He finished the game with a goal and an assist.
Hayden finished with at least 66 saves in the game (official totals not yet available).
The Marauders end the season on a 20 game win streak, a program record. UMary finished 2021-22 with a record of 38-4-1-2 (W-L-OTL-T) overall this season. Against ACHA M2 teams the Marauders were 36-2-0-2 this season without a loss to an M2 team since October 15, 2021.
Over the course of two national tournament appearances, the Marauders are 10-0 and have outscored their opponents 47-7. In the 2022 tournament, UMary is 5-0 and have outscored the opposition 24-5. This was the first time the Marauders have allowed two goals in a tournament game.
Team Captain and senior
Zach Garrett was named the 2022 ACHA M2 Tournament Most Valuable Player, posting two goals and six assists for eight points in five games.
#1 University of Mary 3 (OT) at #1 Florida Gulf Coast University 2
Friday, March 18, 2022 - USA Arena-CICC
#1 University of Mary 0 1 1 0 0 1 - 3
#1 Florida Gulf Coast University 0 2 0 0 0 0 - 2
1st Period- No Scoring.Penalties-No Penalties
2nd Period-1, #1 University of Mary,
Tanner Eskro 2 (
Marshall Tschida,
Derek Dropik), 3:25. 2, #1 Florida Gulf Coast University, Jack Cohen 2 (Spence Vantiem), 12:47. 3, #1 Florida Gulf Coast University, John Laviolette 1 (John Saraceni, Wyatt Engelmann), 16:09 (PP). Penalties-Eskro UMary (roughing), 14:56;
Garrett Freeman UMary (roughing), 20:00;Cory Richardson FGCU (roughing), 20:00.
3rd Period-4, #1 University of Mary,
Johnny Witzke 1 (
Seth Cushing), 3:30 (PP). Penalties-Michael Haskins FGCU (tripping), 2:42;
Kyler Moore UMary (elbowing), 5:03; Saraceni (crossFGCU checking), 5:03;
Andrew Heckaman UMary (tripping), 6:43; Eskro UMary (hooking), 11:46.
1st OT Period- No Scoring. Penalties-No Penalties
2nd OT Period- No Scoring. Penalties-No Penalties
3rd OT Period-5, #1 University of Mary, Cushing (
Alex Flicek) 3:21. Penalties-No Penalties
Power Play Opportunities-#1 University of Mary 1 / 1; #1 Florida Gulf Coast University 1 / 3.
Goalies-#1 University of Mary,
Kyle Hayden. #1 Florida Gulf Coast University, Wesley Swenson.
#marauders#
