Men's Hockey | 3/7/2014 11:08:00 PM

Box Score

WORCESTER, MA – Brad McGowan (Langley, British Columbia/Surrey Eagles) scored the game-winning overtime goal 13:23 into overtime, lifting the RIT men's hockey team (12-18-5)  to a dramatic 3-2 win over Holy Cross (13-20-3) in game one of the Atlantic Hockey Conference Tournament First Round Series on Friday night at the Hart Center.
 
In overtime, McGowan broke away off a terrific feed from Noyes and with nobody but the Holy Cross goaltender Matt Ginn in his path deaked left and brought the puck back right to flip a backhanded shot into the net over Ginn's pad to take the game. It was his first game-winning goal of the season and first overtime goal of his career.

Greg Noyes (Lucan, Ontario/Salmon Arm Silverbacks) scored the game's opening goal for RIT after some great passing from teammates Ben Lynch (Blaine, MN/Lincoln Stars) and Josh Mitchell (Osoyoos, British Columbia/Alberni Valley Bulldogs) got him open in the left circle where he fired a shot off the far right post and into the net. Adam Mitchell (Crofton, MD/Baystate Breakers) added a goal of his own from the point midway through the second off assists from Danny Smith (Edmonton, Alberta/Sherwood Park Crusaders) and Alexander Kuqali (Pittsburgh, PA/Sioux City Musketeers).
 
McGowan's was the game's number one star. Noyes had a solid night as he finished the game with two points on a goal and an assist.
 
Brett Lubanski scored the first Holy Cross goal on a power play in the waning minutes of the first period, and Rochester native Shayne Stockton added the second Crusaders goal with 7:16 left in the third to tie the game at 2-2, sending the game to overtime.
 
Holy Cross goaltender Matt Ginn made 45 saves on the night, but was outdueled by RIT goaltender Mike Rotolo (Rochester, NY/Cedar Rapids Roughriders) who made 36 saves in the win. Rotolo made a number of stellar saves throughout, including two on breakaway chances for the Crusaders, which helped keep the Tigers in control for much of the game.
 
The final shots were 48-38 in favor of the Tigers, as they have now won four straight contests.
 
"I thought we generated a lot of shots, had a lot of great opportunities but we also left some good chances on the table," said RIT head coach Wayne Wilson. "Regardless, McGowan made a great play at the end on an aggressive goaltender and on the other end Mike [Rotolo] has a lot of confidence for us which is great to see."
 
From the outset it was obvious this would be a physical game as just 20 seconds in RIT was called for a penalty putting the Crusaders on power play.  
 
Later on in the period Noyes would score the first goal of the game to give RIT a 1-0 lead. It was his sixth goal of the season.
 
With 1:23 remaining in the first Holy Cross would get another power play opportunity and this time they made the most of it as Brett Lubanski received a cross pass and blasted a slap shot past Rotolo from in close on the right side. After one the teams were tied up at 1-1.
 
With 11:05 to go in the second, a mistake by the Tigers led to a shorthanded chance by Adam Schmidt of Holy Cross who stole the puck in the neutral zone and broke away all by himself. Rotolo stood his ground, coming out to play Schmidt and made a fantastic pad save to keep things tied up at 1-1
 
Several minustes later the Tiger offense regained control and were able to hold the puck in the Holy Cross zone for over a minute making crisp passes and generating an onslaught of shots. Eventually the pressure paid off when Kuqali wrapped the puck around the boards from the left side, where Smith found it in the right corner and pushed it back behind the goal line to Adam Mitchell (Crofton, MD/Baystate Breakers). Mitchell rattled off a bullet over Ginn's left shoulder from the point to regain the lead 2-1.
 
The Tigers came into the third with a full head of steam as they stayed physical on defense and controlled the tempo of the game through most of the period.
 
With 7:16 to go in the game though, Holy Cross would steal the momentum back after Stockton's shot from the left circle soared past Rotolo and into the net to tie things up at 2-2.
 
Dan Schuler (Webster, NY/Powell River Kings) nearly played hero for Tiger fans with 5:42 to go, as he grabbed the puck in the neutral zone, headed up ice with it and with defense draped all over him got a backhander off out in front that was knocked away by Ginn.
 
As the third period game to a close the squads were still tied up at 2-2 and were headed for overtime.
 
With 9:31 to go in overtime, Todd Skirving (Thunder Bay, Ontario/Sioux Falls Stampede) nearly tipped a Descoteaux shot from the point into the net but the puck went teetering towards the goal line where it was gathered by Holy Cross. Eventually it was McGowan who sealed the deal for the Tigers, just minutes later.
 
RIT is now 23-8-4 all-time against Holy Cross and 19-3-4 against them at the Division I level. The Tigers defeated the Crusaders in both the 2008 and 2009 AHA Quarterfinals series, winning in two games in 2008 and three games in 2009. The two teams are 1-1-1 against each other this season.
 
RIT is 17-8 all-time in AHA Postseason contests since becoming eligible for the league's postseason in 2007-08 and 1-2 on the road. The Tigers are now 6-2 all-time in overtime during the postseason at the Division level.
 
With game one of the AHA three-game first round playoff series in the books, the Tigers will get set for game two, looking to complete a sweep of the Crusaders, which is slated for a 7:05 start tomorrow night.