{"id":134114,"date":"2022-03-25T15:37:00","date_gmt":"2022-03-25T20:37:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/?p=134114"},"modified":"2022-03-25T15:37:00","modified_gmt":"2022-03-25T20:37:00","slug":"after-review-luke-grainger-gets-overtime-goal-to-send-western-michigan-past-northeastern","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2022\/03\/25\/after-review-luke-grainger-gets-overtime-goal-to-send-western-michigan-past-northeastern\/","title":{"rendered":"After review, Luke Grainger gets overtime goal to send Western Michigan past Northeastern"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Western Michigan players celebrate Luke Grainger’s overtime winner against Northeastern on Friday (photo: Rich Gagnon).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

WORCESTER, Mass. — At first, Luke Grainger didn\u2019t know how to react.<\/p>\n

After intercepting the puck behind the net, the Western Michigan sophomore looked to have had an overtime game-winning goal on a wraparound shot taken away after a highlight-reel save by Northeastern goalie Devon Levi.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought Levi made a great save (at first). He makes a lot of great saves, so I was hoping for the best,\u201d Grainger said. \u201c… I really wasn\u2019t sure what I was feeling. I was just hoping it crossed the line.\u201d<\/p>\n

Grainger\u2019s hope worked. Following a short video review, it was confirmed that the puck crossed the goal line to give his top-seeded Broncos a 2-1 win over Hockey East regular-season champion Northeastern in Friday’s opening game of the NCAA Worcester Regional.<\/p>\n

Grainger\u2019s eighth goal and fourth game-winner of the season followed senior teammate Cole Gallant\u2019s opening tally 5:59 into the first period.<\/p>\n

Northeastern forced the extra period after top-scoring junior Aidan McDonough\u2019s 25th goal of the season evened the score with 3:20 to play in regulation.<\/p>\n

\u201c(It was) a great battle tonight,\u201d first-year Western coach Pat Ferschweiler said. \u201cI thought that was exactly what NCAA hockey should look like.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the end, though, Western (26-11-1) earned its first NCAA win, breaking a seven-game losing streak in previous tournament appearances.<\/p>\n

\n

The overhead view of the WMU OT winner pic.twitter.com\/j21DElt1TH<\/a><\/p>\n

— CJ Fogler AKA Perc70 #BlackLivesMatter (@cjzero) March 25, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n