Army Skates to 2-2 Tie with Quinnipiac

November 21, 2003

Courtesy of Army Sports Information Department

Goaltending the Story of the Night at Tate Rink

Nov. 21, 2003

WEST POINT, N.Y. - Quinnipiac's Jack Devaney scored with 2:45 left in regulation lifting the visiting Bobcats to a 2-2 overtime tie with host Army in front of 2,019 fans at Tate Rink Friday evening. The Black Knights move to 5-4-2 overall and 2-3-2 in Atlantic Hockey, while the Bobcats stand at 5-4-1 and 3-0-1 in the AHA.

In a matchup featuring two of the best goaltenders Atlantic Hockey has to offer, Brad Roberts of Army and Jamie Holden of Quinnipiac did not disappoint. Roberts registered 31 saves, while Holden stopped 38 as the two stole the spotlight Friday night.

"I thought the two best players on the ice tonight were definitely the goaltenders," Quinnipiac head coach Rand Pecknold said. "Roberts was excellent and Holden was equal to the task."

Roberts robbed Quinnipiac's Matt Froehlich on a breakaway and later gloved two shots earmarked for the upper left-hand corner of the net in the second period to keep things knotted at 1-1. His heroics off a John Kelly wrister from point blank range with two minutes left in the middle stanza spoiled the Bobcat forward's breakaway attempt and brought the Army faithful to their feet for a standing ovation.

"Both goalies played well," Army mentor Rob Riley said. "They are two of the best in the league and they showed why tonight."

Army's Seth Beamer finally put the home team on top when he blasted a shot from the high slot past Holden on the power play with 11:36 left in the contest. However, Devaney finally solved Roberts with just under three minutes to go in the game to send the contest into overtime. Tim Quinlan hit a post and Jon Boyle was robbed by Holden's glove hand in the extra session for Army.

The Black Knights were looking to rebound after dropping a pair of league tilts to Sacred Heart last weekend. Roberts gave his teammates the lift they needed.

"I liked our effort tonight," Riley added. "It's nice to see, especially coming off a disappointing weekend." "Army played hard," Pecknold reaffirmed. "They came out and competed. I think we were fortunate to get out of here with a point."

Freshman Ryan Cruthers gave the Black Knights the early lead with a goal at 8:34 of the first period. Froehlich evened up the score for Quinnipiac 1:32 later on the power play.

Holden stopped 16 of 17 Army shots in the opening period, while Roberts turned aside all 15 Bobcat attempts, including three breakaways, in the second to keep the score tied after 40 minutes.