PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Curry College scored four goals in the final 11 minutes of the game Thursday evening, including a pair of short-handed markers, to rally from a 3-0 deficit and pull out a 4-3 non-conference men's hockey victory over Plymouth State University at Hanaway Rink.
The host Panthers scored three second-period goals to take the lead, and were cruising along with the three-goal advantage midway through the third period. Sophomore Dan McGinnis (Hanover, Mass.) broke through for Curry at the 9:08 mark, and freshman Adam Valadao (Ajax, Ont.) cut the margin to one goal with a short-hander at 11:41; senior Jordan Reed (Ajax, Ont.) tied the score with just 5:49 remaining, and junior Brian White (Santa Ana, Calif.) tallied a short-hander for the game-winner with just 1:02 on the clock.
The Colonels rallied for their fourth straight win to improve to 8-5-1 overall, while PSU, 0-3-2 in its last five games, fell to 5-5-3 overall.
After a scoreless first period, sophomore Dan Dupell (Collegeville, Pa.) put PSU on the board; Dupell's deflection of a shot from the point by senior Zach Sarig (Reading, Pa.) hit the cross bar, but Dupell put in his own rebound for his fifth goal of the season. The Panthers pounced on a rebound again during a power play six minutes later as junior Andrew Wigg (Lantz, N.S.) finished off his team-leading seventh goal of the season after a goalie save on a shot by junior Josh Woody (Sunderland, Md.)
PSU extended the margin to 3-0 on a 5-on-3 power play as sophomore Tommy Dowell (Olathe, Kansas) fired a blast from the left point, a goal set up by nice passing from Dupell and sophomore Erik Strom (Gothenburg, Sweden).
The Colonels got on the board after sophomore Jake Heisinger (Winnipeg, Mani.) stole an errant PSU pass in the defensive zone and set up McGinnis for his fifth of the season. Strong forechecking by Reed set up the shorthanded goal by Valadao, also his fifth of the campaign, and Reed scored in similar fashion for his team-leading 10th of the season.
The teams were playing four-aside down the stretch when White scored the game-winner for Curry just one second after the PSU penalty expired.
Senior goalie Derek Mohney (Amherst, N.Y.) registered the win for Curry with 23 saves, improving his record to 4-4, while sophomore Mac Haight (Sammamish, Wash.) was saddled with the loss despite 37 stops.
PSU plays its fifth straight home game Saturday at 6:00 p.m. at Hanaway Rink against Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) rival Salem State University. Curry is idle until Friday, Jan. 16, when the Colonels host Fredonia at 6:40 p.m. (Game Recap Courtesy of Plymouth State Sports Information)
