UTICA, N.Y. — If the Utica vs. Curry game came down to a defensive, goaltending battle, prognosticators would say bet the house on Curry.
Utica said not so fast.
The Pioneers are heading to their first NCAA Division III national championship game after defeating Curry in a tight defensive, goaltending battle, 2-1, at 4:25 of overtime.
“Overtime period was the long change, and we enjoy that as our second period has always been our best period all year,” Utica coach Gary Heenan said.
Eric Vitale got the game winner when Curry goaltender, Shane Soderwall, uncharacteristically left a fat rebound. Brian Scoville’s initial shot went off the goalie’s pad to the right side. Vitale crashed in one-timing it into the wide open side of the net.
Vitale described it, “Coach was telling us to win battles. There was a loose puck behind the net. I was fortunate to win that battle and take it up and find Scoville out in the open there. As great as he is in shooting, that couldn’t have been more of a perfect shot on pad for me crashing the net to bury it home for Utica. It was a great feeling.”
Heenan said, “(Ryan) Piros is making saves when he needed to, tight checking team, not a lot of odd man rushes all night, their goalie obviously sensational.”
Curry had the better of play in the first period, outshooting Utica 9-7.
“I thought the first period, we got right to our game,” Curry coach Peter Roundy said. “I felt really good how we were playing.”
Curry would only get 11 more shots the rest of the game.
“It was a kick in the pants,” Heenan said of his team’s slow start.
That second period, which is Utica’s best, saw the Pioneers pour it on, with a 19-5 shot advantage.
“Utica made a hard push in the second,” Roundy conceded.
It finally paid off with just 59 seconds left in the stanza. Scoville from the left point passed it to Anthony Bax on the right point. Bax shot it through the crowd far side for the 1-0 lead.
“I thought (the first goal) was key,” Heenan said. “You believe your goaltender is just going to lock it down if they get a goal.”
Entering the third period, Roundy said, “The message in the locker room was we got one period left, let’s leave it all out there.”
After Utica took an inadvertent tripping penalty, Curry took advantage of the power play, knotting the score at 1-1 at 11:03.
Shane Carr from the middle up high took advantage of a complete screen on Piros, firing it past him.
The game headed to overtime, but unlike Curry’s last NCAA overtime game, a four extra period marathon at Hobart last year, this one ended relatively quickly.
Curry (25-4-0) once again ends their national run in overtime. Soderwall made 34 saves.
Utica (24-4-2) played perhaps their best, most disciplined defensive game of the season, which is why they defied the naysayers. They will need to do that again on Sunday in the championship game at 7:00 pm vs. Hobart, two-time defending national champions.
“They’re a monster,” Heenan said. “We played them in the national playoffs last year. We will certainly watch that game and know what worked and what didn’t work. We are going to have to be aware about what Hobart’s doing. They’re a special group.”
Utica got to host the championship weekend, but not on their usual home rink, The Adirondack Bank Utica Auditorium, because of scheduling conflicts with other tenants. Instead, it’s on the brand new attachment, the Utica University Nexus Center. Nonetheless, being home is still nice for the Pioneers.
“I think it was a key being home,” Heenan said. “The crowd was electric. The support was there.”
