Coppola Scores Overtime Winner to Tie Men's Hockey AHA Quarterfinal Series at One

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MILFORD, Conn. (March 8, 2008) - Michael Coppola (Old Brookville, N.Y.) scored his third career overtime goal Saturday to lead the University of Connecticut men's hockey team to a 3-2 win over Sacred Heart. That tied their Atlantic Hockey Association quarterfinal series at one game apiece. The deciding game three is Sunday at 7:05 p.m. at the Milford Ice Pavilion and can be heard live on WHUS 91.7.

With the win, the Huskies improve to 13-20-3 on the season, while the Pioneers fall to 15-18-3. It is the first time UConn has defeated Sacred Heart this season in five tries.

In overtime, UConn goalie Beau Erickson (Hinton, Iowa) made three point blank saves three and a half minutes to overtime as the Pioneers attempted to jam the puck in before he was able to glove the rebound. Two minutes later, Charles Solberg (Barrington, Ill.) intercepted a puck and took it into the Sacred Heart zone. His shot was saved by Sacred Heart goalie Stefan Drew, but Coppola was right there to score the rebound goal and tie the series at one.

Sacred Heart scored the first goal when Nick Johnson was able to beat Erickson high. The Huskies however controlled play in the Pioneer zone throughout the first period as they had several scoring opportunities. They cashed in at the 9:46 mark when Andrew Olson (Alexandria, Minn.) found Jason Krispel (Cypress, Calif.) in the middle of the ice between the two face-off circles. Krispel then put a move on Drew and put the puck in the back of the net to tie the score at one. UConn killed off a Pioneer power play in the last two minutes with Erickson making four saves to send the game into intermission 1-1.

After a scoreless second period, the Huskies scored 6:15 into the third period when Olson was able to cash in off a Chris Spicer (Syracuse, N.Y.) pass. That goal, which was his 14th of his freshman season, set a new Division I freshman record for Connecticut, breaking the old record of 13 set by former Husky Chris Myhro in 2005-06. Sacred Heart nearly tied it up with four minutes to go, but Erickson was able to stop two consecutive wrap around attempts by plugging the corners and covering the puck up. The Pioneers scored the tying goal when Evan Mladenoff got past his defender and sent a wrist shot past Erickson's left shoulder at the 18:02 mark. Jordan Behler (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y.) had the best chance in the last minute, sending it just wide right with 50 seconds to go. Neither team was able to control the puck from there and the game went into overtime, setting the stage for Coppola and Erickson's heroics.

For the game UConn out shot Sacred Heart 36-33. Olson led the team with seven shots on net. Erickson made 31 saves.

If the Huskies can defeat Sacred Heart Sunday night, they will move onto the AHA Final Five in Rochester, N.Y. and will play in the opening round game on Friday, March 14 at 7:05 p.m. against an opponent to be determined.