RIT loses longest game in school history, partly due to broken stick

By KEVIN OKLOBZIJA

Usually when you make history, you walk away proud.

Not so for the Rochester Institute of Technology’s men’s hockey team on Saturday night, however.

The Tigers played the longest game in RIT history — a three-overtime, four-hour and 26-minute Atlantic Hockey playoff marathon — and lost.

And they’ll quite likely not forget the stinging pain of the loss, or the bizarre manner in which the winning goal came about.

Sacred Heart’s Jackson Barliant fired a shot from the right-wing circle past Tigers goalie Logan Drackett 2:19 into the third overtime to give the Pioneers a 4-3 victory — and set up a do-or-die deciding third game of the series on Sunday night.

“You can see how tough it is to end someone’s season,” Tigers coach Wayne Wilson said after Sacred Heart three times overcame one-goal deficits before finally winning after 82 minutes and 19 seconds of game clock.

Two nights, two overtime games, two very tired teams. The Tigers won the series opener 5-4 on Friday night when Abbott Girduckis scored 23 seconds into overtime. On Saturday they played into a sixth period.

And now two teams face elimination when the puck drops at 7:05 p.m. Sunday at the Gene Polisseni Center. And for the four RIT seniors in the lineup (and two not in the lineup), their career on the Henrietta campus is on the line.

“As a senior, you don’t know how many games you have left as an RIT hockey player,” said senior co-captain Myles Powell, who scored a pair of first-period goals.

The Tigers were on the brink of advancement to the quarterfinal round of the Atlantic Hockey tournament, leading 3-2 after Erik Brown’s 29th goal of the season broke a tie at 4:29 of the third period.

But the Pioneers forced overtime with just 66 seconds to play. Austin McIlmurray swung out into the left circle and his shot hit the stick of Tigers defenseman Matt Abt and ricocheted past Drackett and into the top right corner of the net.

The Corner Crew was quieted. The Pioneers were elated.

To that point, the Tigers had allowed just 18 shots on goal (while firing 30 at Pioneers goalie Brett Magnus). But their inability to gain control of the puck against Sacred Heart’s extra-attacker swarm cost them.’

“We have to limit our mistakes,” Tigers senior defenseman Chase Norrish said. “Sacred Heart’s a good enough team that they can capitalize on them.”

The Tigers might also hope for some better luck. What began as a rather harmless play ended up ending the game.

Defenseman Adam Brubacher went to play the puck in the neutral zone, looking to bank it past Pioneers winger Stephen Hladin along the boards by the penalty boxes.

Except Brubacher didn’t know the blade of his stick was broken. He swiped once. Strike one. He swiped again. Strike two. By then, Hladin sent Barliant away down the right wing and the junior winger slung home his second goal of the game.

“I think you always make your luck,” Wilson said.

But … an undetected broken stick blade in the third overtime? That’s called true misfortune.

“He didn’t realize the blade was broken,” Wilson said. “He takes a swipe at it, the puck doesn’t move. He takes another swipe, it doesn’t move.”

Moments later, the 18th longest game in NCAA hockey history was over. The longest Division I game in RIT history came in 2012, when Cameron Burt scored 1:23 into the third OT to defeat Bentley. The Tigers had played a four-overtime game when they were in Division III, but those were 10-minute overtime periods.

The Tigers can at least take solace that the deciding game of the series will be played on home ice.

“We’ll sleep in our own beds, eat our own food,” Powell said. “And the crowd’s so nice to have behind us. They’re always loud and on our side.

“But we have to take advantage of it.”