Amherst skated to a 1-1 tie against visiting Southern Maine on Saturday afternoon at Orr Rink.
First-year forward Beau Kretzman scored the lone goal for the Jeffs while Huskies captain Andrew Gardner tallied the tying goal 17:41 into the third period. Both goalies were stellar in net as Amherst junior Justin Jagher recorded 16 saves while Southern Maine first-year goaltender Matt Collaton turned aside 26 shots.
Jeffs sophomore defender John McNicholas dished out a handful of fierce body checks to help Amherst kill off a pair of Southern Maine power-play opportunities in a scoreless opening period.
Amherst finally connected 12:17 into the second, when Kretzman tallied his team-leading 13th goal of the season, skating the length of the ice with the puck and firing a left-handed wrister from the right circle over the shoulder of Collaton. Both goalies came up big with spectacular saves on numerous breakaway attempts to hold the score at 1-0 heading into the third.
Gardner tallied the lone Huskies’ goal 17:41 into the third when he gathered a rebound off Jagher’s body and chipped a shot into the top corner of the net, sending the game into overtime.
Kretzman had the best opportunity to score in the extra period when he skated into the Huskies’ zone and ripped a wrister off the post with 17 seconds left in the game.
