Georgetown 5, Rider University 4 (Overtime).

On Friday evening, October 16, 2009, at The Gardens Ice House in Laurel, MD, the Georgetown Hoya Hockey team played one of their most exciting games and defeated Rider University in the final seconds of overtime by the score of 5 to 4. It was a tremendous game before an enthusiastic parents' weekend crowd from Massachusetts, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Maryland.

The game was a fiercely contested contest in which the Hoyas constantly were battling from behind. Rider led for much of the game by 2-goal margins, 2-0 and 3-1. Rider outshot the Hoyas by the incredible margin of 20 to 8 in the second period. Statistics, however, do not tell the story of this game.

The Hoyas won this game by grit, determination, total team play, battling for every loose puck, forechecking and backchecking, contesting every shot, killing a 5-on-3 penalty and 5 other power plays, scoring 3 goals on blasts from the point by defensemen that were tipped in or rebounded for timely scores, by a hat trick, by shocking Rider with a tremendous shorthanded goal when Rider was feasting on consecutive power plays and thought they had the game in hand, by superior goaltending, and by an amazing, spinning backhanded game-winning goal with merely 3 seconds remaining in overtime.
Rider was leading 2-0 midway through the second period when Charlie Beller (Jr-Chappaqua, NY) ripped a slap shot from the left point that was tipped in by Lou Aronne (Sr-Greenwich, CT), with an assist from Lukas Autenried (Soph-Wallisellen, Switzerland). Rider quickly answered and took a 3-1 lead. Shortly thereafter, the Hoyas committed three minor penalties and found themselves fighting off a 5-on-4, a 5-on-3, and another 5-on-4 penalty. With 4:31 remaining in the second period, and during Rider's third consecutive power play, there was a game-changing performance. In the midst of this second-period onslaught in which Rider was pummeling the Hoyas' goal from all angles and threatening to break the game wide open, the Hoyas blocked a slap shot from the point and Alex Yale-Loehr (Soph-Ithaca, NY), fresh out of the penalty box, took control of the puck in the defensive zone, broke free from the pack, and skated hard toward the Rider goal on a breakaway. At full speed in front of the goal, Alex faked to his left, deked the Rider goalie, and netted a backhander that stunned the Rider team, cut the lead to 3-2, and energized the Hoyas.

A few minutes later, with 1:58 remaining in the second period, Peter Bourneuf (Soph-Boston, MA), fired a laser-like slap shot from the right point approximately 3 inches off the ice, which the Rider goalie could not see. Once again, Lou Aronne, who had established position in front of the net, skillfully tipped in the shot to tie the game 3-3 heading into the final period.

The third period was a back-and-forth defensive battle with the game on the line. With 6:16 remaining in the game, Joe Horgan (Sr-Landsdale, PA) passed the puck to the Hoyas' Co-Captain, Charlie Walsh (Sr-Cheshire, CT) at the blue line. Charlie blasted a slap shot that bounced hard off the back boards to the left of the Rider goal. The quick hands of Lou Aronne controlled the rebound and fired it past the Rider goaltender to give the Hoyas a 4-3 lead. It was the Hoyas' first lead of the game and a hat trick for Lou Aronne. The Hoyas' excitement, however, was short-lived, for merely 30 seconds later Rider answered with a goal of its own to tie the game 4-4. The score remained 4-4 as time expired. The teams then huddled in preparation for a 5-minute overtime, 4 on 4.

In overtime, both teams skated hard and there were several end-to-end rushes, but neither team could capitalize. In the final seconds of overtime, the Hoyas had the puck deep in the offensive zone but could not get a good shot on goal against a tightly-packed Rider defense. With approximately 6 seconds remaining in overtime, the puck bounced loose in the left circle and Georgetown defenseman Gus Thompson (Jr-New Canaan, CT) quickly went into action. Gus "faked" a slap shot, momentarily lost control of the puck, spun around with his back toward the goal, and somehow backhanded the puck from the left circle through the Rider defense and past the goalie to win the game! When the puck crossed the goal line, only 3 seconds remained on the clock. The Hoyas' bench erupted and the Hoyas charged onto the ice to celebrate their fantastic finish.

Not lost in the celebration was the outstanding play of the Hoyas' goaltender, Greg Graham (Sr-Downingtown, PA). Greg faced a relentless attack by a talented Rider team, and saved 41shots for the game. It was another great goaltending performance by the Hoyas' netminder.