Drexel Defeats West Virginia, 5-3, Spoils Mountaineers Home Opener
MORGANTOWN, Wv. — James Jacobs scored two goals — including the empty-netter with 38 seconds left in the game — and goaltender Tyler Richman held off a late Mountaineer comeback to lift the Drexel Dragons over the West Virginia Mountaineers, 5-3, Friday night at Hope Gas Ice Pavilion at Mylan Park.
Knotted 2-2 after two, and 1-1 after one, it was evenly matched down the stretch until Adam Lizine and Pietro Baccarin scored just over a minute apart early in the third period. Despite West Virginia pulling to within a goal with 12 minutes remaining, the Mountaineers could not pull off the comeback.
West Virginia started strong with some early chances, though, as Nick Bruno took the puck off of a Drexel stick just a minute into the game and had a breakaway chance on Dragons goaltender Tyler Richman, but was unable to find the back of the net.
West Virginia forward Thomas Carron redeemed Bruno just a couple minutes later and opened the scoring at 3:30 of the first to give the Mountaineers an early 1-0 lead. The game settled into a rhythm as each team took chances in their respective offensive zones, but neither could find the back of the net. Nearly 11 minutes of gameplay went by before Drexel forward James Jacobs tied the game 1-1 for the Dragons.
In the second, it seemed to be Drexel that had the upper hand. Not in the scoreboard, but at least in the chances. Yet it was once again the Mountaineers that struck first.
After a tripping call on and a cross-checking call West Virginia forward Cooper Brackett — and a corresponding interference call on Drexel defenseman Adam Lizine — led to a scrum behind the net, the teams played 4-on-4 for two minutes. While it was uneventful, Brackett came out of the box and promptly gave West Virginia a 2-1 lead at 11:35 of the second.
Not to be outdone, Adrian Vlna tied the game at two goals apiece by shoving a loose puck past Mountaineer goaltender Wyatt Sloetjes.
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