MIDDLETOWN, Conn. -- Senior Zach Joy (Dover, N.H.) scored a natural hat trick for the University of Southern Maine with a pair of third-period goals to rally the Huskies from a 3-1 deficit against Wesleyan University, then netted the game winner just 1:02 into overtime to propel the Huskies into sixth place in the ECAC East standings heading into the final game of the regular season with the 4-3 triumph here tonight.  

            Despite the loss, Wesleyan secured the eighth and final spot in the NESCAC tournament by virtue of Connecticut College's 4-2 loss at Norwich.  Southern Maine finishes the regular season Saturday at Trinity while the Cardinals host the University of New England in the regular-season finale.

            Senior Paul Conter (Woodbridge, Ontario) got the assist on the game-winning goal, possessing the puck behind the Wesleyan net on the left side and feeding Joy for a one-timer from the left circle.

            Joy evened the game at 3-3 at 13:25 of the third period with a nifty give-and-go at the Wesleyan blue line, getting the puck back and slinging a wrister high inside the right post.  Conter and junior Dan Rautenberg (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) picked up the helpers. Joy cut the difference to 3-2 at 9:34 of the third frame with a power-play goal, punching in a loose puck on a rebound of a Conter shot that Cardinal sophomore goalie Glenn Stowell (Hadley, Mass.) initially saved but couldn't control. Thus, Conter finished the contest with three assists, upping his team-leading scoring to nine goals and 14 assists for 23 points.  Joy now has team goal-scoring leadership with 10.

            Rautenberg had the Huskies' opening goal at 1:43 of the second period, also a power-play tally.  He moved in on the right side and flipped in a shot from the right circle to make it 1-1 at the time.

            Wesleyan built a 3-1 advantage after two periods on a pair of goals by freshman Keith Buehler (Skaneateles, N.Y.) and a goal by senior Anthony DePietto (Westbury, N.Y.).  Buehler began the day's scoring with an unassisted goal at 18:53 of the first period, picking up a loose puck in center ice and moving past the Huskies defense to beat freshman netminder Braely Torris (Eckville, Alberta) high to the stick side.

            DePietto gave Wesleyan the lead, 2-1, at 15:33 of the second period with a slap shot from the right circle that hit Torris, and then banged off the right post into the net.  Buehler padded the lead with his seventh goal of the season, improving his team scoring lead to 7-12-19, with a wrister from the left circle at 17:57 of the middle stanza.

            Torris finished the contest with 31 stops for Southern Maine while Stowell made 26 saves for Wesleyan.