Box Score NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, N.Y. – Dwyer Arena has not been a fun place for visitors this season. Niagara, in fact, was 7-3-2 at home heading into the weekend. However, that momentum changed with a visit from the Sacred Heart Men's Hockey Team.
Junior blueliner Mikey Adamson fired a laser wrist shot through a screen and into the back of the net with seven seconds remaining in overtime today to give SHU a 3-2 victory and a five-point road weekend that keeps the Pios in first place.
Adamson, who had two goals tonight and now has eight this year, cashed in his team's second power play chance of the overtime to end the contest. Felix Trudeau's shot from the right circle bounced off the goalie and went behind the net where Marcus Joughin won the puck and passed out to his defenseman looking for his third game-winner. "It was a broken play and the puck came back up top to me. I saw Ghirardosi screening the goalie and threw it on net and luckily it went in," said Adamson, who used a great screen in the low slot from the guy who set up the winner in game one of the weekend, Tyler Ghirardosi.
First year SHU goalie Ajeet Gundarah, in net for yesterday's 3-2 win, made 31 saves – including four in the extra session - to get today's victory. "They got a few shots, but I think we kept them to the outside for the most part, and we got five of six so we're pretty happy against a good team," said the Pio goalie about the overtime session.
The ice was tilted in favor of the home team early in this contest. Niagara had 11 of the game's first 14 shots, and the 11th found the net late in the opening period. In fact, the uphill ice prevented the Pioneers from hitting the goalie with a puck in the first seven minutes.
Gundarah made some fantastic saves in the second period trying to keep the visitors within a goal. The Richmond, B.C., native stopped a pair of grade A chances with tons of traffic in his view halfway through the second. A few more stops followed and so did a second home team tally on a rebound.
The 2-0 disadvantage woke up the Pioneers, who quickly responded with a pair of their own. Max Dorrington fed graduate winger Matthew Guerra, who skated into the lower left circle and flicked a rising wrister inside the far post to cut the lead in half and give him six tallies this year. Two minutes later it was Adamson, who took a pass from Jake Hewitt, juking a defender near the top of the right circle and moving to the high slot for a better angle from which to release a snapshot that found its way through traffic for his seventh.
Gundarah, who saw his counterpart face three more shots than him in the second, and the SHU penalty kill did a great job in the closing minutes of the middle period to limit NU to one shot on target and keep the score 2-2 heading into the second break.
Both goalies came up with big saves in the third to keep it tied, but the Pio forecheck was beginning to take its toll on the Purple Eagles, and the shots came pouring in for the visitors. SHU ended up with a 35-33 edge in shots on goal. A late charging penalty on Hewitt took away some of the offensive momentum, though his teammates bailed him out with another good penalty kill, and the home team took a penalty of its own just before regulation time expired.
Adamson and Joughin had a few good looks with a 4-on-3 early in the overtime, but Pierce Charlson used his glove and blocker to thwart those attempts. However, another Niagara skater was sent to the penalty box, and SHU had its sights set on the winner.
"I thought we played well tonight," said Adamson. "It was definitely a chippy game, but at the end of the day, I think the better team came out on top."
