Stamford, CT. – The Bryn Athyn College men's ice hockey team won a 3-2 thriller over #2 SUNY Maritime in Friday night action.
Terrence Johnson and Scott Witmyer led the Lions with a goal and an assist each. Ray Norfo notched one goal. Jordan Roth and David Dalcortivo added an assist each.
In the first period, both teams exchanged chances, but both team's goaltenders kept the game scoreless. Bryn Athyn outshot Martime 10-9 in the first period.
Five minutes into the second period, Roth went down the left side of the offensive zone on a 2-1. He shot the puck at the goalie pads, and it rebounded to the blade of Norfo, who was trailing behind and scored to put Bryn Athyn on the board, 1-0. With 13:30 left in the period, Billy Martin picked up the puck in the Maritime zone, off a defensive mistake and hit the post. 30 seconds, later Johnson picked up a loose puck in the neutral zone and went on a breakaway on the penalty kill. He brought the puck up the slot, and hit the crossbar, causing the puck to bounce out of play.
On a Bryn Athyn penalty kill, the Privateers scored to tie the game at 1-1, with 6:17 left in the second. Maritime nearly scored to take the lead, but the puck hit the post and bounced out of the slot with 3:36 left in the second.
At 2:58, Witmyer came up the right side of the offensive zone, toe dragged through the feet of a Maritime defenseman and scored short side bar down to lift the Lions 2-1. Bryn Athyn would go into the second break out shooting the Privateers 24-19 and on the penalty kill.
Bryn Athyn got on the board quick in the third period off a goal by Johnson. Witmeyer brought the puck up the right side of the offensive zone, and took a shot from the hash marks. Johnson, who was trailing behind on the left side zone, picked up the rebound and scored to extend the Bryn Athyn lead 3-1.
Maritime started to increase pressure in the Bryn Athyn zone to chip away at the Lions' lead. At 15:55, the Privateers picked off a pass in the neutral zone and went on a breakaway. Bryn Athyn's Graham Lermitte made a glove save to keep the Bryn Athyn lead.
Bryn Athyn almost scored again on the penalty kill at 13:07, when Witmeyer picked up a loose puck in the neutral zone off a shift change and pressed the offensive zone. His shot hit the post and kept Maritime within two goals.
With two players in the penalty box, Martime went on a 5-3 man advantage at 10:53 in the third. The Bryn Athyn defense pinched in and cut all open lanes to prevent the Privateers from scoring.
The Privateers scored from the top of the circle off a moving screen with 5:30 left in the game on a delayed Bryn Athyn penalty, cutting the Lions' lead to one.
With a man remaining in the penalty box after the goal, the Lions called a time out.
On the penalty kill, Travis McCurdy picked off a Maritime pass and went on a breakaway. His shot was saved by the goalie's body, with 4:35 left in the game.
At the 3:10 mark, the Privateers had a chance tie game with a shot that hit the post and missed an open net during a scuffle in the Bryn Athyn offensive zone.
With less than three minutes left, the Lions went on a power play. Blake McCurdy's shot was saved in front of the goal, off a pass from behind the goal.
At 2:02, Bryn Athyn took a penalty, and both teams were even with 4 players. With 33 seconds left in the game, Maritime pulled their goalie to go on a 5-4 man advantage. Bryn Athyn pinched into the defensive zone and put down their bodies to block the Privateer's offensive attacks.
With 7.1 seconds left in the game, the Maritime took a timeout during a 5-4 man advantage. Bryn Athyn successfully killed the penalty and won their first road game of the year.
Lermitte made 36 saves in net. Tonight marked his first start in net for the Lions this season.
Head Men's Ice Hockey Coach Andrew Burke expressed, "Tonight was a huge team win. We simplified everything and recommitted ourselves to the defensive end of the ice. In my opinion, we have turned the corner and got the first win under our belt. Hopefully, everyone can stop gripping their stick so tight and just play hockey. We will enjoy this win for a couple of hours, but we need to start focus-in on Neumann. We hope to use this win, as a building block moving into Sunday.
Bryn Athyn's Lermitte said, "Tonight the boys played as a team and won as a family, something we've been looking for all season. Everyone stepped up when they needed to and we really found that next level that will keep the wins coming."
Bryn Athyn returns to the ice Sunday afternoon to take on ranked Neumann University at IceWorks in Aston