University of Connecticut Athletics
Huskies Battle Past Mercyhurst, 4-3 in Overtime
2/18/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Huskies Battle Past Mercyhurst, 4-3 in Overtime
ERIE, Pa. (Feb. 18) – Junior Chris Uber (Ithaca, N.Y.) scored 21 seconds into overtime to lift the University of Connecticut men’s hockey team to a 4-3 win over Mercyhurst in Atlantic Hockey action at Mercyhurst Ice Center on Friday evening. With the victory, UConn improves to 11-20-2 on the season with a 10-10-1 record in Atlantic Hockey, while Mercyhurst drops to 9-7-3 in the league with a 10-15-4 record overall.
With goals just 1:07 apart, sophomore Matt Scherer (Seattle, Wash.) and freshman Mike Neilon (St. Paul, Minn.) gave the Huskies a 2-0 cushion after one period of play. Scherer scored at the 15:48 mark from senior captain Tim Olsen (Vadnais Heights, Minn.) and Uber. Neilon followed at 16:41, netting his fifth of the season with assists going to sophomore J.R. Corkery (Salt Lake City, Utah) and senior Adam Rhein (Cottage Grove, Minn.).
However, the Connecticut lead would not hold, as the Lakers rallied with three goals in the second stanza to take a 3-2 advantage. T.J. Kemp scored 8:27 into the period off a feed from Ryan Toomey and Kyle Gourgon. Jamie Hunt followed with a man-advantage tally at 9:56 from Scott Champagne and Kemp. David Wrigley rounded out the scoring for Mercyhurst as he converted on a power play opportunity at 12:05.
That would be all for the Larkers offense as sophomore goaltender Scott Tomes (Windham, N.H.) shut the door, making 13 saves in the third period for a total of 35 in the contest. At the 10:29 mark in the third, sophomore Trevor Stewart (Elk River, Minn.) connected with a pass from senior Mark Murphy (Jamestown, R.I.) and classmate Matt Grew (Yarmouthport, Mass.) to tie the score at three.
With the first and only shot of the overtime period, Uber lifted the Huskies to their first win over Mercyhurst since the teams met in the MAAC Semifinals on March 16, 2000. The victory was also UConn’s first over the Lakers in Erie, Pa.
Mercyhurst outshot Connecticut, 38-30 and netminder Andy Franck turned aside 26 shots for the Lakers.
The Huskies play the second game of this weekend’s doubleheader against Mercyhurst tomorrow, Feb. 19, at 7:30 p.m.
