Winslow, ME - A year ago, a late goal earned the Thomas College Terriers a tie in a home game against the Saint Joseph's College Monks. This time, it was Monks junior Jack Gordon (Hingham, Mass.) striking with 1:14 left in the game to give Saint Joseph's a 7-6 win over Thomas.
The Terriers would get on the board first in their home opener. After a nice save from Monks starter Jimmy Riley (Dedham, Mass.), the Monks defense was unable to clear a rebound chance, put home by Tim McDermott to give Thomas a 1-0 lead 8:18 into the first period. Saint Joseph's struck back in the final minute of the period, with Brendan Woelfel's (Lowell, Mass.) shot finding it's way through a crowd past Terriers goalie Michael Small.
The Monks struck first in the second period, with Jason Riley (Dedham, Mass.) sneaking behind the Terriers defense and beating Small with a nice top shelf finish. Michael Hersom tied the game for Thomas, as a shot through a screen found its way past Jimmy Riley. Jason Riley quickly answered less than a minute later, again getting behind the defense of Thomas and beating Small on the glove side as he was being hauled down by a defender. The Monks extended the lead to 4-2 on the ensuing power play. Ryan Berard (Millville, Mass.) picked up a loose puck behind the net and lifted it over the Thomas goalie before he could get back in position at the 13:57 mark. Dean Pratt would bring the Terriers within one with a late goal to end the second period scoring.
The teams exchanged goals at a fast and furious pace to start the third. Eric Morin wasted little time, tying the game 34 seconds into the final frame. Saint Joseph's quickly took the lead back, Jack Gordon gained the Thomas zone with speed and placed a shot passed Small less than 30 seconds later. Morin then answered for the Terriers to tie the game at 5-5. Berard answered to end the 1:33 scoring flurry to put Saint Joseph's up 6-5. It looked as if the two teams would once again be destined for overtime as Alex Nadeau evened things up for the Terriers with just under five minutes remaining. The Monks secured the game winner on the power play, after Jason Riley was hauled down to draw a tripping call with under two minutes remaining. Dan Donovan (Lynn, Mass.) scooped up a rebound in front of the net and made a cross-ice pass to Gordon, who buried the game winner.
Jimmy Riley earned his third win of the season in goal, making 45 saves for the Monks, 3-0 (3-0 NECHA), while Small made 42 saves for the Terriers 0-2 (0-1).
The Monks are next in action at 8:05pm Saturday, November 14th against Norwich University.
