ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – On a day where goals were at a premium, the last two went for Binghamton as the Bearcats snuffed out a Bonnies rally to win in overtime, 6-5, Tuesday afternoon at the Marra Athletics Complex.
It took nearly 20 minutes for either team to find the back of the net as each squad put together chances but strong play by both defenses and goaltenders kept things scoreless until the 10:15 mark of the second quarter.
Binghamton scored three times in the second and took a 3-0 advantage to halftime.
Patrick Shanahan finally got the Bonnies on the board with his 10th goal of the year 88 seconds into the second half. Jaxon Dillon got the sequence started by thwarting a Binghamton clear attempt, intercepting a pass near midfield before dishing directly in front where Shanahan did the rest.
Both teams went quiet again, though, with each goalie making several saves.
Binghamton (4-4) seemed to be in control at 4-1 two minutes into the fourth, but the Bonnies found some stride on the attack.
Kellen Pulera deposited a man-up goal off a feed from Drew Kenney as the Bonnies used the man advantage to get within 4-2.
Cole Tucker then brought the Bonnies within one with still 10:46 to play.
St. Bonaventure completed its 4-0 run as Conor Murphy scored off an assist from Kyle Pepper for his team-best 17th goal of the season for a 4-4 tie and the Bonnies completed the rally by taking their only lead of the day, 5-4, following a score by Anthony Cimino with an assist from Shanahan with 5:27 showing on the clock.
Bona's edge lasted until just under two minutes to go in regulation when Binghamton tallied the equalizer on a goal from Liam Ferris.
The teams went to overtime and the Bonnies won the opening faceoff.
Tucker placed a shot on net that was turned away and the Bearcats grabbed possession, ultimately firing five shots as the extra period ticked away.
With just nine seconds to go in the overtime, Gavin Jacobsen beat the keeper for the game-winner as the Bearcats won in extra time over the Bonnies for the third consecutive season.
Bonnies freshman goalie Isaac Farmer was absolutely outstanding in net, making a career-high 20 saves.
Fellow freshman Lad Harper won 10 of 14 faceoff tries, also securing eight groundballs.
Connor Winters made 14 saves in net for Binghamton.Â
QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH RANDY MEARNS
"It's a game of runs and a game of opportunities. We had ours in overtime but couldn't convert. Obviously today was a defensive struggle. Isaac Farmer's performance kept us in the game and our defensive unit played lights out. I'm proud of our resolve to chip away and claw our way back into the game in the fourth quarter, but we couldn't close it out. We have to learn from that as we get ready for A-10 conference play."
UP NEXT
St. Bonaventure starts Atlantic 10 action by traveling south to play at No. 10/10 Richmond on Saturday afternoon. Faceoff is slated for 2 p.m.
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