RIT players (from bottom to top) Adam Mitchell, Daniel Sivak and Brad McGowan watch a face off during the first period.
Josh Barber

Coming into the game, RIT head coach Wayne Wilson had a very simple strategy for his team: “We wanted to move our feet, get the puck deep, and create excitement and momentum. The strategy was to get a few points early on, get the crowd involved and keep them involved with as many goals as we could.”

And that’s exactly what they did. The crowd, loud and orange-clad, was tuned to the Tigers’ every move. Every goal was celebrated with screams of surprise, and “ohhs” were heard with every missed opportunity and bad penalty.

The two teams maintained a close score throughout, with each period ending in a tie. In the third period, St. Lawrence jumped ahead as Patrick Doherty scored twice in a span of 1:41 early in the period to give them the lead, one they would hold for nearly half the third period.

The Tigers’ comeback run began when third year Criminal Justice major Bryan Potts scored his second goal of the game on a power play, after an attempted centering pass went off the skate of a Saints defender and past Weninger. Second year Packaging Science major Greg Noyes and Burt assisted on the goal.

The game was tense at 5-4 in the third period with nine seconds left in the game when Burt leapt toward the puck to keep it in within shooting distance, and fired a shot that deflected off a St. Lawrence defensemen and the skate of Noyes. Third year Business Management major Adam Hartley, who was alone in tight, shot it past Weninger on the open right side, and sent the crowd into a frenzy and an already exciting game into overtime.