The Oswego State men`s ice hockey (21-6-2) team advances to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Divisions III Championship with a thrilling come-from-behind 4-3 victory over Bowdoin College (17-9-2) on Thursday afternoon in the Campus Center Ice Arena. Alex Botten's goal at 17:40 of the third period was the difference maker and came off a beautiful feed from senior captain David Titanic.
Oswego will now travel to Babson College for a 3 p.m. tilt on Sunday. Tickets for the quarterfinals game will go on-sale at 12 p.m. on Friday in an online capacity only at tickets.oswego.edu. Fans will be limited to two tickets per person and will be $5 for adults and $3 for students and senior citizens. Purchasing the tickets online will grant fans with a voucher that will need to be exchanged at the Babson Box Office for a physical ticket. Tickets should be picked-up at the box office no later than 15 minutes before faceoff on Sunday.
Titanic was able to grab the puck in the neutral zone after a Polar Bears' turnover and fight down the boards past the defense, eventually sending a perfect pass through the crease for Botten to deliver to the back of the net for the game-winner. This capped a three-goal streak to end the game as Oswego found itself down 3-1 early in the third period.
After Bowdoin goals from Matt Rubinoff and Harry Matheson, the Lakers answered the challenge with two goals in a 38 second span to knot the score at 3-3. At 8:21, Shawn Hulshof found Titanic for a goal after a Laker timeout to try to stop the Polar Bears' momentum.
With Titanic's goal igniting the crowd, Mike Montagna's score at 8:59 sent the fans into a raucous. Montagna equalizer was a rebound goal after Bobby Gertsakis scorched a shot towards Bowdoin goaltender Max Fenkell.
Both squads got a score in the second period, with Botten notching his first goal of the game at 6:04 off passes from Matt Galati and Nick Rivait. The Polar Bears were able to tie up the game right before the final intermission, scoring at 18:57 as Jay Livermore score from Colin Downey and Connor Quinn.
In the first period, within 1:30 of the opening faceoff, Botten ripped a shot that caught the pipe and deflected back into play. It was a period of great opportunities for both teams, as Oswego jumped out to a 9-1 lead on shots. Bowdoin battled back with a barrage of attempts the rest of the first, finishing with a 13-11 edge after one.
Stephen Johnson found the same fate as Botten a few minutes later, as he sent a shot careening off the post. Botten looked to get his best opportunity in the final five minutes of the first, as a teammate fed him to the right post. It seemed that the freshman had an empty net for an easy score but the Polar Bears' goaltender slid back into position for a kick save at the last moment.
Bowdoin then put pressure right back on the Lakers, as Matt Sullivan blasted a shot that Matt Zawadzki nabbed with his glove before falling to his backside to nip the Polar Bear chance.
Both teams had a power-play opportunity in the first but each were able to kill the chance.
Zawadzki earned the win in net, stopping 27 shots on the day. Fenkell finished with 32 saves.
