by Ryan Fay
It wasn't looking good for Union.
The 17th-ranked Dutchmen were down 2-1 late in the third period in their opening round Shillelagh Tournament game against host Notre Dame on Friday at the Compton Family Ice Arena.
But Matt Wilkins took matters into his own hands, scoring the game-tying goal late in regulation and the game-winner in overtime to give the Dutchmen a 3-2 win over the Fighting Irish.
 |
| Wilkins |
WATCH: Live stream for Saturday's championship game
The junior forward sealed the victory with 21.5 seconds left in overtime. With Union on a four-on-two rush, Sebastien Gingras fed Wilkins in the slot, and he fired the puck past Fighting Irish goalie Chad Katunar.
Wilkins' power-play marker tied the game at 2-2 at 18:45 of the third after he deflected in Michael Pontarelli's centering pass while stationed in front of the Fighting Irish net.
The two-tally effort gave him 11 goals in his Dutchmen career, and five have been game-winners.
Spencer Foo cut Notre Dame's lead to 2-1 at 8:04 of the third when he unleashed a shot from the left faceoff dot for his team-high seventh goal of the season. He has at least a point in eight straight contests.
The Fighting Irish grabbed a 2-0 lead on goals from Sam Herr and Austin Wuthrich. Herr beat Dutchmen goalie Colin Stevens with a backhander at 7:34 of the first. Wuthrich lit the lamp after deflecting a slap shot from Luke Ripley at 14:31 of the second.
Union held Notre Dame (6-7-2) to only one combined shot on three power-play opportunities. The Dutchmen finished with a 37-28 shot advantage overall.
Union is competing in its second Shillelagh Tournament. The Dutchmen appeared in the inaugural event in 2009 and lost to then-No.1 Notre Dame, 3-1, in the opening round.
HIGHLIGHTS
Follow @UnionHockeyBlog
No comments:
Post a Comment