Northeast climbed out of a three-goal hole to beat Skylands, 7-6.
Northeast never led in the game until netting the game winner. Northeast trailed 6-3 after a goal by Skylands\’ Cory Decosta at 3:54 in the third period. Northeast knotted things up at 6-6 on a goal by Austin Braley at 18:48 in the third period. Northeast netted the game winner at 19:43 in the third period on a goal by Braley.
Braley had two goals and two assists to lead Northeast. Braley scored the first of his two goals on the power play at 15:09 into the second period to make the score 5-3 Skylands. Northeast had gained a power play chance when Ernest Komarnitskii was whistled for tripping. John Catania picked up the assist. Braley\’s next tally on the power play made the score 6-6 with 1:12 left in the third period. Alex ODowd assisted on the tally.
Northeast kept Skylands\’ goalie busy throughout the game, and Evan Barghout made 28 saves on 35 shots. Northeast bested its season scoring average. Northeast averages 3.1 goals per game. Team\’s forwards weren\’t the only contributers offensively, and the team\’s defensemen showcased their scoring touch with two goals.
Northeast also got points from Conor Harrington, who also finished with one goal and one assist. Others who scored for Northeast included Chris McHugh, Reed Mancovsky, Brendan Collins, and Tommy Bellew, who scored one goal each. Other players who recorded assists for Northeast were Ruslan Cernych, who had one, Jared Butler, who had two, and Kevin Perry, who had three.
Northeast was unable to stop Skylands from sending pucks towards the net, and Skylands eventually piled up 50 shots on goal.
Skylands was led by Tim Vant, who had two goals and one assist. Vant scored the first of his two goals at 2:54 into the first period to make the score 1-0 Skylands. Dan Demarco picked up the assist. Vant\’s next tally made the score 3-1 Skylands with 5:37 left in the first period. Skylands was on a disadvantage when Jack Nussbaum went off the ice for slashing. Skylands additionally got points from Demarco, who also registered one goal and one assist and Hunter Ledwith, who also racked up one goal and one assist. More assists for Skylands came via Cole Skelly, who had two and Matt Sinatra and Mike King, who each chipped in one.
Leo Lake recorded 44 saves for Northeast. Northeast incurred 22 minutes in penalty time with six minors. Skylands incurred 18 minutes in penalty time with nine minors.