Box Score (with contributions from Castleton State Sports Information)
Southern Maine Rallies to Down Castleton State 5-3
RUTLAND, Vt. -- Senior Lorne Miller (Montreal, Que.) broke a 3-3 tie with 7:33 remaining and the University of Southern Maine men's ice hockey team tacked on an empty-net goal to defeat Castleton State College 5-3 in an ECAC Men's East game Monday evening at Spartan Arena. The game was the regular season finale for both teams.
The Huskies concluded the season 6-18-1 overall and 3-14-1 in league play. The win was the Huskies first on the road against the Spartans since 2006. The Spartans finished 10-15-0 overall and 8-10-0 in ECAC games. The game was originally scheduled for January 17, but had to be rescheduled when the ice-resurfacing machine broke down prior to the game.
Miller fired home the rebound of a shot taken by sophomore Todd Bannerman (Georgetown, Ont.) for his second goal of the season. Senior Stephen Gallo (Barnstead, N.H.) picked up the second assist.
Rookie Brett Norman (Dawson Creek, B.C.) added the unassisted empty netter with 11 seconds remaining to secure the win.
After a scoreless period, Castleton took a 2-0 lead in the opening three minutes of the second period. Junior Will Laking (Orilla, Ont.) found the net for his ninth goal of the campaign at 39 seconds, and rookie Simon Teodorsson (Taberg, Sweden) made it 2-0 at 2:26.
The Huskies cut into the deficit in half almost immediately as Bannerman, set up by Gallo and rookie Alex Pantalone (Hudson, Mass.), scored his fourth at 3:41.
For the second straight game, the Huskies were awarded a penalty shot after a Castleton player covered the puck in the crease area. Junior Daniel Mattsson (Uppsala, Sweden) was successful against Spartan rookie goalie Ryan Mulder (Ottawa, Ont.) to tie the game at 2-2. It was Mattsson's first goal of the season.
USM scored its third straight goal early in the final period to take the lead. Junior Chad O'Brien (Johnstown, Pa.) tallied his fifth goal of the season assisted by rookie Victor Ivarsson (Stockholm, Sweden) and senior Sam Guimond (Portland, Maine).
The Huskies lead lasted just over a minute as senior Brian Greene (Falmouth, Maine) intercepted a pass and went in on a breakaway to score a short-handed goal against USM rookie goalie Matt Michals (Needham, Mass.) and tie the game at 3-3. That would be the only shot to get past Michals as Castleton out shot USM 18-10 in the period.
The Huskies gave each of their three goaltenders a period of work. Rookie Kyle Shapiro (Ocean, N.J.) started and made nine saves in the opening period. Classmate Nate DelGiudice (Oakland, Maine) played the middle period making 12 saves. Michals got the win after making 17 saves in the final period. Mulder finished the game stopping 23 shots.
Southern Maine will be the eighth seed for the upcoming ECAC Men's East Tournament that starts this Saturday. The Huskies will face top-seeded Norwich University. Castleton will be the fourth seed and host the University of New England on Saturday.
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