PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – Two goals by Alex Gagnon (Montreal, Quebec), including the overtime winner, guided the Albertus Magnus College men's ice hockey team to a 4-3 OT victory over King's (Pa.) College on Saturday evening at the W.B. Mason Winter Classic.
With the win, the Falcons were crowned champions of the W.B. Mason Winter Classic, hosted by Plattsburgh State at the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena, as the only 2-0 team at the event.
THE BASICS
FINAL: Albertus Magnus 4 | Kings 3 (OT)
RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (9-5-0) | King's (2-10-0)
BOX SCORE
HOW IT HAPPENED
For the second day in a row, the Falcons skated to a 0-0 draw after one period of play. Logan Bateman (Ottawa, Ontario) needed just eight saves to maintain the clean sheet after one frame.
Albertus' offense came alive midway through the second period, with Gagnon opening the game's scoring 11:36 into the stanza. After Tyler Ignazzitto (Bath, Ontario) sent a pass to center ice, Gagnon corralled it and skated behind the net before fully extending for a wrap-around shot to sneak a goal into the bottom-right corner.
The Falcons went ahead 2-0 at the 17:56 mark on a power-play strike from Colt Corpse (Fort Wayne, Ind.). After a saved shot, Sam Anderson (Calgary, Alberta) quickly found Corpse in the middle of the zone, where he fired a wrister that snuck just inside the keeper's stick-side pipe.
AMC needed just 1:05 in the third period to widen its advantage to 3-0. After some passing in its offensive zone, Ryan Herpy (Chagrin Falls, Ohio) slapped a shot that Ignazzitto tipped up into the top-left corner of the cage.
Over the next nine minutes, the Monarchs made the game interesting, cutting their deficit to one, 3-2, with two tip-in goals. Mahingan Decontie netted the first goal before Jack Cooper made it a one-goal game behind a power-play strike.
King's continued their comeback by evening the score at three following a Nick Snyder goal 15:55 into the third period. After an Albertus turnover in their zone, Corson Searles fired a quick pass to Snyder, who had a wide-open net for the tying score.
Snyder's goal served as the last of regulation, as for the second time this season, Albertus and King's were headed to overtime.
Like the first time these two teams met, tonight's contest was decided on an early penalty call. After a cross-checking call 1:05 into the frame, Gagnon ended the game on a rebound that he buried top shelf. Both Anderson and JJ Berdal (Wausau, Wis.) earned assists on the game-winning goal.
��️: For any @Albertus_MIH fans that missed it, here is Alex Gagnon's game-winning goal in overtime against King's tonight!!!#fearlessfalcons | #thisisFalconawesome | #protecttheNEST pic.twitter.com/MoODdu891E
— Albertus Magnus Falcons (@AMCAthletics) January 9, 2022
Bateman posted another stellar outing in goal against the Monarchs, finishing with 26 saves to earn his ninth win of the year.
BETWEEN THE PIPES
Albertus: Logan Bateman (W, 9-3-0): Shots on Goal 29 | Goals-Against 3 | Saves 26
King's: Brandon Daigle (L, 1-6-0): Shots on Goal 52 | Goals-Against 4 | Saves 48
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- The Falcons outshot the Monarchs by a whopping 52-29 margin.
- Both Albertus and King's served eight minutes on four penalties.
- The Falcons scored on two of their four power-plays, while the Monarchs cashed in on one extra-man opportunity.
- Herpy led all players with six shots on goal.
NOTEWORTHY
- Tonight's matchup is the fourth all-time meeting between Albertus and King's.
- The Falcons' win tonight evened the all-time series at 2-2-0.
- Both of the games between AMC and King's this season have gone to overtime, with both teams winning once.
- The Falcons collected their second OT win in program history.
- Albertus set a new program record with 52 shots.
- Gagnon (7g, 12a) now paces the Falcons this season with 19 points.
- Zach Pellegrino (Madison, Conn.) notched his first career point tonight, assisting on Corpse's goal.
- Both Ignazzitto (1g, 1a) and Anderson (2a) have tallied two points in back-to-back games.
W.B. MASON WINTER CLASSIC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Tournament MVP: Alex Gagnon (Albertus Magnus)
F - Alex Gagnon (Albertus Magnus)
F - Sam Anderson (Albertus Magnus)
F - Paul Bryer (Plattsburgh State)
D - JJ Berdal (Albertus Magnus)
D - Matt Araujo (Plattsburgh State)
G - Logan Bateman (Albertus Magnus)
UP NEXT
The Falcons will return home for their next game, welcoming the Mustangs of SUNY Morrisville for an evening clash on Tuesday, Jan. 11. The home bout is slated for 7 p.m. at the Ralph Walker Skating Rink.