GORHAM, Maine -- Junior defenseman Paul Conter (Woodbridge, Ontario) scored seven seconds into sudden-death overtime to give the University of Southern Maine its first-ever victory over Trinity College, 2-1, Saturday in an ECAC East-NESCAC inter-league game at the USM Ice Arena.
The win capped an improbable final weekend to the regular season for the Huskies. Combined with other league results and by defeating Wesleyan University on Friday and Trinity, the Huskies overcame a three-point deficit in the standings to clinch the fourth and final home ice berth in the upcoming ECAC Men's East tournament. The Huskies will host Skidmore College next Saturday (7:00 p.m.) in a quarterfinal round game.
The Huskies, who were 0-13-1 since the 1995-96 season against the Bantams, head into the playoffs with a 10-12-3 overall record and finished the league regular season at 7-9-3.
Trinity, bidding for a home ice berth in the upcoming NESCAC tournament, will be on the road in the first round. Trinity finished the regular season 14-8-2 and 11-6-2 in league play.
Conter picked up a loose puck in the neutral zone, skated across the blue line and unleashed a slap shot that beat Trinity junior goaltender Wesley Vesprini (Lexington, Mass.) over the right shoulder. Sophomore Dan Rautenberg (Cape Elizabeth, Maine), who took the faceoff to start the extra session, earned the only assist.
After a scoreless opening period highlighted by the goaltending of Vesprini and USM sophomore Mason St. Hilaire (Saco, Maine), the Bantams got on the board first as sophomore Sean McCarthy (Duxbury, Mass.) put a shot from the left wing circle past St. Hilaire for his sixth goal of the campaign. Junior Ben Shellington (Hanover, Mass.) picked up the lone assist.
Conter tied the game at 16:57 with a power-play goal netting the rebound of his own shot. Rautenberg had the only assist. The two goals give Conter seven on the season.
St. Hilaire stopped 27 of 28 shots he faced to earn his seventh win of the season. Vesprini made 32 saves for the Bantams.
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