Mounties Take Game One In Overtime

The Rams came out strong in the first game of three in the Division I boys' hockey semifinals, and held the lead for more than forty minutes before the Mounties tied it up, and went on to secure an overtime 3-2 victory.

Fourth seeded Lasalle gave the top seeded team a well-matched battle from the start, with Jason Delisle squeezing one past a throng Mounties at just over two minutes into the first period. Daniel Lucchetti kept up the Ram's momentum with the second goal, six minutes in.   

MSC fought hard for their first goal of the night, scored by Alex Erban on an assist from Ben Handanyan at 11:08 in the second period, bringing the score to 2-1. Rams Goalie Joseph Noonan held off multiple offensive attacks through the second and third quarter, keeping the Mounties down by one until the last four minutes of the game.  

A big rally from the fans in a packed Adelard arena may have inspired the boys as Mike Magerman tied the game on a powerplay. The only team to beat the Mounties during the regular season now faced a seemingly rejuvenated force in sudden death overtime.  

Magerman put the game away just 48 seconds in with an assist from Erban, securing the first victory in the series. Game two, far from a guaranteed win for a MSC team chasing their fourth consecutive state title, will be played tonight at Thayer Arena at 7 p.m.

"It will be a good one," said Coach Dave Belisle of tomorrow night's game. "They get harder and harder as you go along."

"Physically we were getting outplayed tonight. We didn't possess the puck." said Belisle. 

"I thought the best player tonight was Samborsky," Belisle said. "He didn't score any goals but that didn't matter. He controlled the game for us, he beat people to the puck, he was relentless."

The Mounties have the chance to cinch a spot in the final round for Division I with another win Saturday night. If the the Rams take game two, the final series game will be played on Monday.