Overtime started about five minutes after Friday’s game had been tied in the third period. And just 35 seconds later, the Temple ended its four-game losing streak.
Senior forward Joey Powell scored the game-winning goal, his 10th of the season and second in overtime, to help Temple (5-6-1) beat Virginia Tech, 3-2, at the Flyers Skate Zone in Northeast Philadelphia. Temple rallied from behind twice beat the Hokies.
Powell slid into the offensive zone after a Virginia Tech player lost his stick and benefitted from crisp passes by freshman forwards Brendan Ondick and Eric DiPretoro before he beat the goaltender through the five-hole.
“I just had a lane and I had just missed one the period before,” Powell said. “So I kept it low, and I knew I could put it five-hole.”
The goal was Powell’s second of the night. He scored his first on the power play to tie the game at one with less than three minutes remaining in the second period.
“We knew what we had to do to score, and we just executed, made some really good passes,” Powell said. “[Sophomore defenseman Ryan Trefz] and Ondick made good passes, and I just tapped it in. I didn’t really have to do much.”
The Hokies took the lead for the second time about four minutes into the third period. An Owls turnover from behind their own net led to a pass out front and a shot that beat junior goaltender Zach Burkhardt over his right shoulder. Burkhardt stopped 41 of 44 shots Friday.
The Owls tied the game again with five minutes, 47 seconds remaining in the game on a goal credited to Ondick after the puck seemed to roll past the downed Virginia Tech goaltender, Christian Ciraco.
DiPretoro made a diving play where he sprawled out to send a cross-ice pass to Powell to keep the puck in the offensive zone before the goal.
The Owls reached coach Mark Spease’s desired 40-shot mark for the game. They have a 4-1 record when they accomplish this feat. The Hokies still led in shots, however, 44-40.
“We outplayed them, we out everything’d them,” Spease said. “When you get to the 40-shot mark, we’re gonna win a lot of games and we’ve been preaching that all year. So I thought that we had a good game.”
Burkhardt a key save less than a minute after the Owls tied the game at one. He had to catch a puck that popped into the air while he was falling backward.
“Aside from the first goal, I think he played really well,” Spease said. “He played really well for us in New York as well. The first goal was not good and he knows it and that’s all we have to say about that.”
Virginia Tech’s first goal happened after a large scramble in front of the net that resulted in the puck getting by Burkhardt on the Hokies’ second shot of the night.
Senior defenseman and captain Ryan Dumbach did not play because he had to serve a one-game suspension assessed to him after he received a major penalty for checking from behind against Villanova on Oct. 21. Dumbach was ejected from the game after the penalty.
The Owls will have a chance to build off their momentum from their overtime win when they face Virginia Tech on Saturday at 4:50 p.m. at the Flyers Skate Zone.
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