After coming off an overtime victory Friday night against the Pilots, the Redmen came into the game Saturday looking for a sweep. It looked as if Marquette was in for an uphill battle when Joe Phillips was sent to the penalty box for 2 minutes early and the Redmen had to skate shorthanded. The Redmen were able to kill the penalty, however.
For the first two periods, the Redmen penalty kill was great. For the first two periods, their power play was not great. The Redmen had a man advantage twice in the first 17 minutes and failed to muster many shots on net, along with no goals. The Redmen defense held tough, as they also killed two penalties of their own.
The second period was much of the same for the Redmen on the power play. De La Salle was sent to the box early in the second period and the Redmen capitalized, or so everyone had thought. Marquette scored with a man advantage but the goal was waved off due to the net being knocked off the line. De La Salle eventually killed the penalty.
It did not take long for the Pilots to register another penalty and give the Redmen another man advantage. This time however, the Pilots were aggressive on their kill. De La Salle had an opportunity for a short-handed goal when Redmen goalie Dylan Sibilsky made the “save of the game” according to John Thomsen. The Pilots again killed off the penalty, and the Redmen came up empty.
De La Salle capitalized on Marquette’s missed opportunities when Ollie Bezick broke the scoreless tie at the 8:20 mark of the 2nd period. Marquette was looking to answer but De La Salle goalie Brandon Compton made a tough save on a Joe Phillips shot. The Pilots took a 1-0 lead into the final frame.
De La Salle came out aggressive looking to ice the game in the 3rd period. After Sibinsky made a great save for the Redmen, the Pilots finally got what they were looking for. 6:49 into the 3rd period De La Salle launched a shot from the top of the circle that found its way into the net to put the Pilots up 2-0.
Time was not on the side of Marquette. Down two goals with the clock ticking, the Redmen got what they needed to have a chance. With just over 6 minutes remaining in the game, Ethan Jones got a great pass from Elliot Samppala and put it past the goaltender to cut the deficit to 2-1.
Down a goal, the Redmen got some help from their opponents. De La Salle’s Grant Roland was sent to the box for 2 minutes for crosschecking, and the Redmen had the advantage. Skating 5-on-4 the Redmen looked to catch another break. Jordan Kovacs was hit with tripping and was sent to the box for 2 minutes, and the Redmen were now skating 5-on-3, down just one goal.
The Redmen, again, could not capitalize on the opportunity. De La Salle killed the penalty, and the Redmen’s hopes were looking bleak. That’s when the Pilots gave Marquette another sliver of hope. With under 2 minutes remaining, De La Salle’s Thomas Hernandez was called for tripping, and it earned him a 5 minute major.
This time, the Redmen capitalized. Tanner Phillips tied things up with a goal and sent the game to overtime for the 2nd straight day.
The brief overtime period saw no scoring and the game ended in a 2-2 tie. It was a big comeback for the Redmen late which salvaged a point, and won them the weekend series 1-0-1 against a tough opponent in Warren De La Salle.
The Redmen’s next match up takes place Thursday, December 15th when they travel to Hancock. We will have all the action for you here on Fox Sports Marquette 105.1 – 99.9 and live online at foxsportsmarquette.com. The Honor Credit Union Pregame Show will begin at 6:30 with puck drop set for 7:00pm.
LISTEN – FULL GAME – Marqeutte Redmen and Warren De La Salle tie 2-2