ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Seventy seconds remained with Holy Cross holding a 2-0 lead over RIT.
Just 36 seconds later, the game was tied.
“I was happy with the way we played,” RIT coach Wayne Wilson said. “Holy Cross is on top of the standings for a good reason. For us, I know it’s going to feel more like a win because we tied it up. For them, they’re going to feel like it’s a loss. I thought it was just a good, hard-fought hockey game.”
“I expected it to be a tight game,” Holy Cross coach David Berard added. “Disappointing at the outcome having a two-goal lead. They’re a good team. They are going to keep playing. They made some plays. Hats off to them.”
With RIT goalie Christian Short pulled, the first play came when the rebound came out to the side and Caleb Cameron slammed it home into the unguarded near side.
RIT called time out and then never put their goaltender back in. The Tigers immediately gained possession and entered the zone.
Brady Norrish fired a slap shot from near the blue line in the middle that sailed through traffic right past the blocker of Paul Berrafato with 33.7 seconds left.
“You never know how the puck is going to bounce,” Wilson said of the extra-attacker play. “You got to put pucks to the net. All it takes is a blocked shot or a bad bounce, and they get a clear.”
After a scoreless first period despite moments of domination by RIT, emotions changed quickly early in the second. Three minutes in, RIT thought they had the first goal of the game, but the whistle blew before it went in.
Shortly afterwards at 4:25, Holy Cross did get the first goal of the game. Danny Lopez skated slowly to the top of the left circle lifting a wrist shot using the defender as a screen, beating Short.
The teams then traded breakaways. Scott Pooley for Holy Cross fired it straight into Short and then while Liam Kerins had time to deke, Berrafato was equal to the task, staying with it the whole time.
RIT outshot Holy Cross in the second period 20-4 yet the Tigers found themselves down 1-0 heading into the third period.
“I thought the first period was really good,” Wilson said. “I thought they did a very good job getting into the shooting lanes, blocking shots and forcing shots wide.”
“They did have a lot of shots,” Berard said. “I thought we did a good job keeping the shots to the outside. I think the scoring chances were even although the shot differential was there.”
After a late timeout in the third period, Holy Cross scored what appeared to be the insurance goal when captain Matt Vidal pounced on a loose puck in the left slot area and rifled it past Short at 14:33.
“Nobody ever quit,” Wilson said. “I think it’s another step in the right direction for our guys to be able to come back after that late goal.”
RIT once again had a goal waved off when the net was knocked off before the puck went in.
Then came the final 70 seconds. With 1.7 seconds left in overtime, RIT nearly scored in a game befitting a tie.
Berrafato wound up with a career high 42 saves. Holy Cross players also were credited with blocking 37 shots.
Short only needed to make 20 saves and his team blocked just nine.
The two teams remain one point apart for second place with RIT holding the slight edge. The two teams do it again Saturday night.
