SHELTON, Conn. – For freshman forward
Jonathan Meijer there was no better time to net his first collegiate goal than in overtime on Wednesday afternoon for Post University Men's Ice Hockey as the Eagles overcome a late one-goal deficit against Western New England University to snap a two-game losing streak and defeat the Golden Bears for the first time in program history, 4-3, at home.
THE BASICS
Post University 4, Western New England University 3 (OT)
Post University (5-9-0)
Western New England University (3-8-1)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Senior defenseman
Tanner Glasrud and junior forward
Conner Murray gave the Eagles a 2-0 lead in the first period after scoring less than six minutes apart from each other in the affair. Glasrud's shot would come off the rebound from freshman forward
Holden Beckett's shot for the snipe past freshman goalie Luca Scaglione while Beckett assisted on Murray's goal as well. On that shot, the freshman's shot squirted through the pads of Scaglione where Murray was there to clean it up to extend Post's lead to two goals just over halfway through the frame.
While the Eagles were dominated in the faceoff circle to the tune of an 18-11 margin by the Golden Bears, the offense found its rhythm in the first 20 minutes, outshooting Western New England by a 26-16 edge overall and 16-10 in shots on goal as junior
Benjamin Cunneen was a perfect 10-for-10 to start.
A relatively quiet second period saw senior forward Justin Sullivan cut the two-goal deficit in half for the Golden Bears as he connected on his shot past Cunneen with just under six minutes remaining in the frame. That would turn out to be the start of three unanswered goals for the Golden Bears, who took a 3-2 lead with two goals in less than a minute during the third period of action. The first of two came from senior forward Jordie Morgan following a boarding call to junior forward
Hugh McGuigan in which Western New England cashed in on moments later.
Senior forward Brayden Patricia would net the go-ahead goal only 58 seconds later to give the Golden Bears their first and only lead of the contest before the Eagles came back with two unanswered goals of their own to steal back the victory. Both goals would be helped out on by freshman defenseman
Aidan Canady as the first was a shot by Canady in which junior forward
Baxter Kimball got a piece of the puck to deflect it over the glove of Scaglione to force the five-minute, three-on-three overtime.
With time winding down in the extra session, it was Canady again who set up the Post offense for the game-winning goal as his shot which went off the boards, bounced in front of the goal mouth. Locating it near the right side of the crease was Meijer who was able to squeeze it by a diving Scaglione with 1:18 left in sudden-death overtime for his first collegiate goal to lift the Eagles to a 4-3 overtime win at home on Wednesday afternoon, snapping a five-game losing streak against Western New England in the all-time series.
BY THE NUMBERS 