Marquette, MI – December 13, 2024 – The Marquette Sentinels hockey team handed the East Grand Rapids Pioneers their first loss of the season on Friday night, winning 3-2 in overtime at Lakeview Arena. Solid goaltending was the story of the game, with Marquette’s Parker Nevenhoven and East Grand Rapids’ Charles Finch both making fantastic saves throughout the night.
The Pioneers opened the scoring in the second period, when James Albers put the puck past Nevenhoven with 5:23 remaining. Marquette answered minutes later on a Lucas Belkowski powerplay goal that tied the game going into the intermission. Easton Bal gave the Sentinels took the lead early in the second when he capitalized on a rebound with 13:48 left on the clock. Marquette seemed like they would be able to hang on for the win, but an awkward bounce off the glass on a clearing attempt led to Nolan Brooks getting the puck in front of the Sentinels’ net and burying it with 1:18 to play in regulation. There were chances on both ends to finish the period, but neither team was able to end the game in the third.
Overtime was another back-and-forth affair, and again both netminders played exceptionally well. As the clock ticked down, it looked like the game would end in a tie, but Easton Bal found himself open in front of the Pioneers’ net and got a pass from Seth Sandstrom, which he put past a diving Finch with 1.4 seconds before the buzzer.