WILLISTON, ND - Sparked by a pair of goals by Isaiah Thomas, #1 University of Mary rallied for a 3-2 road victory over Williston State College. The Marauders scored the final three goals of the game.
 
Despite dominating the shot chart in the first period, the Marauders trailed the Tetons 2-0. Williston State's Alexander Bailey scored an unassisted goal at 13:50 before Joey Pavek tallied a power play goal at 17:15. UMary held a 24-7 edge in shots on goal but were turned away each time by Williston State goalkeeper Freddy Peters.
 
Thomas jumpstarted the Marauders rally early in the second period. Picking up a loose puck at the bottom of the left circle, the Bismarck, ND, native ripped a shot high into the net at 4:57 to cut the UMary deficit in half. Teddy Lillico and Caleb Petrie picked up assists on the goal.
 
UMary tied the game slightly over three minutes later. After Peters turned away another shot, Jaren Hugelen jammed home the rebound from the right side of the net. Jake Murray and Lucas Medeiros provided the helpers.
 
With Kyle Hayden and the Marauders defense now dominating the game and limiting scoring opportunities, UMary took its first lead of the night in the third period.
 
Turning aside a rush by the Tetons, Petrie started a breakout by the Marauders in their own defensive zone by quickly hitting Alec Flicek with the puck. UMary's all-time leading scorer raced down the right boards and carried the puck over the Williston State blue line. Spotting Thomas flashing down the slot, Flicek lasered a pass towards the crease that Thomas deflected past Peters for the winning goal with 10:14 remaining in the game.
 
The Marauders limited the Tetons to seven shots in the third period but had to stave off a power play opportunity for the home team with under three minutes left in the game. Despite pulling Peters to give the Tetons two extra skaters until under a minute remained, the Marauders thwarted Williston State's attempt to find the equalizer and held on for the win.
 
The Marauders held a 60-17 edge in shots. UMary limited Williston State to seven shots in each of the first and third periods and three in the middle stanza. After taking 24 shots in the first period, UMary followed with 20 and 16 in the final two periods, respectively. The defending ACHA M2 player of the year, Hayden finished with 15 saves. Peters posted 57.
 
UMary was 0-for-2 on the power play while Williston State was 1-for-4. The Marauders were cited for five infractions for 10 minutes with the Tetons whistled twice for four minutes.
 
The 2-time ACHA M2 defending national champion Marauders improve to 29-5-1 overall.
 
The Marauders next visit the #8 University of Jamestown ACHA M1 team on Wednesday, January 25. UMary then hosts #2 Montana State University on January 27-28.
 
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