Knights in Overtime
Against Oswego

In an often tumultuous game, the McQ Knights overcame a very gritty and determined Oswego Buccaneers team by a score of 3-2 in overtime on January 2, at Oswego. The opening series of rushes saw both teams' defensive units quelling any sustained play. Knights goaltender Brian Johnson survived an early attack by making several sprawling saves, when the Knights were unable to clear the puck from their zone.

The game developed a nasty edge, when Buccaneer goaltender Matt Howard came out of his crease to his glove side face off circle to clear a slow dump. Sophomore forward Sam Arazoza checked Howard, causing the goalie to sprawl to the ice. The subsequent no-call by the referees set the tone for most of the rest of the period.

At 10:07, senior forward Brent Sanderson was awarded a penalty shot, after he was tripped from behind after catching a long cross rink pass and breaking past the Buccaneer defense. Sanderson was unable to convert the opportunity when Howard made a pad save on the low shot to his glove side.

At 14:02, while battling for the puck on the neutral zone boards, junior forward James Sturnick was called for interference. A scrum quickly developed after the call. Junior defenseman Andy Lane came flying in and vigorously pushed Buccaneer Scott McClellan. Although the subsequent altercation looked more like a roughing call, both were called for fighting and ejected from the game. The period ended scoreless.

The second period saw the Knight go down a goal early, when the Buccaneers scored on the power play resulting from the Lane penalty. Johnson made an initial pad save on a shot by David Morgia, but the ensuing rebound was picked up by Greg Unger and put past Johnson's blocker side leg pad. The partisan crowd roared it's approval. Not to be outdone, a large contingent of McQuaid students, who traveled to the game, began to loudly cheer.

The Buccaneer goal seemed to reinvigorate the Knights' offense. At 5:06, the blue line's buzzing around the net led to a goal by Sturnick, with senior forward Adam Reask credited with an assist. The Buccaneers were not deterred by the goal and managed a second tally at 9:02, when Mike Brown tipped a David Morgia shot past Johnson.

The Knights responded by putting intense pressure on the Buccaneer goal. But Matt Howard was equal to the task, making several quality saves. But his luck ran out, when goalie Brian Johnson took a Buccaneer dump in and fired it to Sam Arazoza, who was on the boards just past center ice. Arazoza went in on a one on one and shot the puck from the mid slot, which trickled through Howard's five hole with three seconds left in the period.

Although the third period saw a lot of action at both ends, it seemed tame compared to the second period. Neither side was able to score. The McQuaid defense remained tough, weathering three buccaneer power plays. The overtime session was played on the Buccaneers side of the ice. This resulted in the Knights being awarded a power play at 2:13. Some 53 seconds later, senior defenseman Nick Lisena's shot from the point, which rebounded to sophomore forward Alex Pochodylo, who batted in the winning goal.

The Knights outshot Oswego 33 to 21.