THE BASICS:
Score: Holy Cross 3, RIT 3 (OT)
Location: Rochester, N.Y. (Gene Polisseni Center)
Records: Holy Cross (13-9-4, 11-5-4 AHC); RIT (12-10-4, 12-5-3 AHC)
Date: Saturday, Jan 30, 2016
Time: 7:05 p.m.
THE LEAD: Senior forward Castan Sommer (Shrewsbury, Mass.) scored two goals for the Crusaders as the Holy Cross men's hockey team tied the Rochester Institute of Technology, 3-3, in Atlantic Hockey action on Saturday evening. The Crusaders and Tigers also tied on Friday night by a 2-2 score. The Crusaders (26 points) are tied for third place with Air Force (26 points), just one-point behind second-place RIT (27 points) and two points behind first-place Robert Morris (28 points).
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- The Crusaders took a 1-0 lead at 7:41 of the first period, when Sommer found the back of the net. Freshman defenseman Spencer Trapp (White City, Saskatchewan) sent the puck to the front of the net as Sommer was able to knock it in. Senior assistant captain Brett Lubanski (Farmington Hills, Mich.) also posted an assist on the goal.
- The Tigers tied the contest at 1-1 at 10:35 when John Mitchell sent a pass to Brady Norrish who fired a one-timer from the bottom of the face-off circle to the back of the net for the power play goal.
- Then at 17:12, Matt Abt blasted a slap shot from the blue line past the stick side of sophomore goalie Paul Berrafato (Williamsville, N.Y.) to give the Tigers a 2-1 lead.
- RIT outshot Holy Cross, 10-5, while the Crusaders went 0-1 on the power play and the Tigers went 1-1.
- At 7:28 of the second period, the Crusaders tied the game at 2-2 when Sommer netted his second goal of the contest. Sommer and freshman forward Michael Laffin (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) went on a breakaway as Laffin passed the puck to Sommer who then found the back of the net. Sophomore forward Scott Pooley (Granger, Ind.) also tallied an assist on the goal.
- Then at 10:22, junior Mike Barrett (Orland Park, Ill.) fired a wrist shot from the slot to give the Crusaders a 3-2 lead. Sophomore forward T.J. Moore (Edina, Minn.) and senior assistant captain Joe McNamara (Chestnut Hill, Mass.) each posted an assist on the goal.
- Just 1:22 later, Chase Norrish sent the puck off the boards which ricocheted from behind the net to the front of the goal to a waiting Norrish who then buried the puck to tie the contest at 3-3.
- Holy Cross outshot RIT, 12-9, while the Crusaders went 0-2 on the man-advantage.
- At 4:28 of the third period, Berrafato made a diving glove save on a shot by Abbott Girduckis to keep the game tied at 3-3.
- Then at 6:34, RIT's Greg Amlong blasted a slap shot from the blue line that hit the post.
- At 16:21, the Tigers went on a power play, but the Crusaders killed the penalty.
- The game went to overtime as neither team was able to find the back of the net for the 3-3 final score.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- RIT outshot Holy Cross, 36-24.
- Berrafato recorded 33 saves, while Christian Short tallied 21 saves for the Tigers.
- The Crusaders went 0-3 on the power play, while the Tigers went 1-2.
- RIT won 36 face-offs, while the Crusaders took 24.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:
- The Crusaders are 2-1-4 this season in overtime.
- This is only the second time the Crusaders have ever played four straight overtime games. The only other time was 2007-2008.
- Barrett now has 12 goals this season which are tied for the team-lead.
- The Crusaders' 11-5-4 conference record is their best after 20 games since 2005-2006 when the team was 15-4-1.
UP NEXT
- The Crusaders will return to action on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 5-6, when they travel to West Point, N.Y., to take on Army West Point at 7:05 p.m.
BE PART OF THE ACTION THIS SEASON
- To purchase tickets for the 2015-2016 Holy Cross men's hockey season, call 1-844-GOCROSS or visit GoHolyCross.com/Tickets.
STAY CONNECTED
