The Raiders celebrate Tyson Spink’s winning goal in double overtime. (Photo by Bob Cornell)
The Raider celebrate Tyson Spink’s game-winning goal Friday night. (Photo by Bob Cornell)
Raider Nation can exhale, at least for a day.
An inspiring come-from-behind win over Quinnipiac in heralded Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid Friday night propelled the men’s hockey team into the ECAC Hockey Championship game.
The title game against top-seeded Union College is tonight at 7:30, with an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament on the line.
Hundreds of alumni and Raiders fans watched Friday night as Tyson Spink scored on a rebound 58 seconds into the second overtime to send 51Թ to a 3-2 victory.
The Raiders (20-12-5) were down 2-1 with less than a minute left in regulation and without an extra-attacker goal all season long. The outlook seemed grim.
Kyle Baun took care of that, however, with a tough garbage goal in front of the net with 56 seconds left to tie the game 2-2. Spink then became the hero 58 seconds into the second overtime to send 51Թ to its first ECAC Hockey title game since 1990.
Spink’s goal helped the Raiders erase a two-goal deficit that was staring them in the face nearing the end of the second period. Baun took the initial shot that Martin Garteig pushed aside, but Spink was left all alone in the slot and he buried it for the game-winner.
“You are not going to win if your best players don’t play well, and tonight our best players did the job,” said Raiders head coach Don Vaughan, who was named ECAC on Friday. “It was a heck of win for our players and for our program.