The Westfield State University men’s ice hockey team played UMass-Dartmouth to a thrilling 3-3 overtime tie Saturday night at Amelia Park. (Photo courtesy of Westfield State University Sports)
WESTFIELD – Umass-Dartmouth sophomore Josh Vertentes (Rehoboth, Mass.) scored the tying goal with four seconds remaining in regulation to force overtime, as Westfield State and Umass Dartmouth battled to a 3-3 tie in an instant classic overtime thriller on Saturday night at Amelia Park Ice Arena.
The first period featured lots of back and forth action and 21 total shots, including a fantastic 2-on-1 save from Thierry Messervier (Montreal, Quebec) and a few highlight stops from the Corsair freshman Daniel Davidson (Surrey, B.C.), but the game remained deadlocked with no entries on the scoresheet.
The Owls only managed 3 shots on net for their first 7 minutes on the powerplay, mostly due to the plethora of shots blocked by the Corsair penalty-killing unit.
However, one shot from the point finally found its way through, and after a pad save from Davidson, freshman Wyatt Lawrence (Sexsmith, Alberta) jammed home the rebound for the first collegiate goal of his career.
The 1-0 Owl lead did not last long however, as two minutes later senior captain Steven Leonard (Rockaway Park, N.Y.) would net his fourth of the year to tie the game at 1-1.
Minutes later, Umass Dartmouth nearly took the lead after a wraparound attempt from Michael Perrone (Mt. Sinal, N.Y.), but it went just wide past the toe of Messervier.
Momentum shifted to the Corsairs after that, as Dartmouth held three consecutive scoring chances and hounded the Owl goaltender until the end of the period, but were still unable to convert, keeping it a 1-1 game after two periods of play.
The Owls came out flying in the third period, and nearly took the lead after Joseph Carbone (Marshfield, Mass.) broke around a defender and was in all alone, but Carbone would be denied by the left pad of Davidson yet again.
Shortly after that chance, the Corsairs finally broke the deadlock after junior Eric Bolden (Oswego, Ill.) potted his third of the year after a great individual effort to put Dartmouth up 2-1.
But the third period scoring was just getting started.
The Owls would answer with back-to-back goals from Jake Ratcliffe (Canterbury, New Zealand) and then Justin Alves (Woburn, Mass.) within the span of 45 seconds to put the home team out in front.
But the Corsairs weren’t finished. With the goalie pulled and four seconds remaining, sophomore Josh Vertentes (Rehoboth, Mass.) fired a one-time pass from linemate Steven Leonard into the back of the net for the dramatic tying goal just before the end of regulation.
The overtime period was high-energy as both teams were inches from grabbing the win, including a shot form Josh Boulos (Burlington, Mass.) that hit the pipe with 3:30 left in the overtime, but neither team was able to convert, resulting in a 3-3 tie.
Messervier finished with 36 saves for the Owls, while Davidson stopped 30 for Umass Dartmouth. Most of the Westfield State shots never got to Davidson, as the Corsairs blocked an astonishing 20 shots on the evening.
That concludes the home action for the Owls (4-3-3) in 2019, as they finish up the end of the calendar year with a matchup at Assumption College next Thursday at 7:00 p.m.
UMass Dartmouth (2-7-1) hosts Umass Boston this Tuesday at 7:20 p.m. for their final game before the break. – Courtesy of Westfield State University Sports
