With about 16 minutes left in tonight's (eventual) 3-3 draw at UMass, things were looking pretty good. Mike Moran had just scored to make it 3-1 BU on a turnaround shot, upstairs, from the low circle... And then it all fell apart.
With about seven minutes left, BU was definitely sitting back and had no real pressure in the offensive zone dating back to the Moran goal. Conor Sheary made BU pay for their lack of aggression, as he picked up a loose puck in the high slot, turned around and slammed it home five hole on Matt O'Connor (46 saves). It was his 5th of the year.
That goal (as if it wasn't already) sung the momentum greatly into the Minutemen's hands. UMass dominated the rest of the frame and after calling a time out and pulling goalie Steve Mastalerz, they tied it with less than a minute left. Ray Pigozzi got credit for the goal as a shot got through from the point and deflected off his stick, past O'Connor to tie it 3-3 with just 50 seconds left.
Before the collapse took place BU actually played a pretty decent game. They took a 1-0 lead midway through the first on Cason Hohmann's 8th of the year. Nick Roberto dished to the Texas native from behind the net and at the bottom of the crease, Hohmann beat a sprawling Mastalerz.
With less than a minute to play in the first period, Umass leveled the game on a power play. Brandon Gracel banged home his 11th of the year just outside the crease to tie it before the period ended.
BU regained their lead on an odd man rush in the second. Matt Lane and Cason Hohmann set up Ahti Oksanen for an absolute bomb from the top of the circle. Mastalerz had zero chance to stop it.
In overtime BU carried the play in the begining, but much like the game, Umass took over late. In the end though, nothing was decided and the final score was 3-3.
Matt O'Connor played out of his mind tonight and really gave his team a chance to win. As mentioned before, he made 46 saves as BU was outshout 49-22. He will get the start against BC in Beanpot Round One on Monday.
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