WATERTOWN, Mass. -- Seniors are supposed to step up in big situations. That is exactly what happened on Friday night in game one of the Atlantic Hockey Conference quarterfinals.
Mercyhurst defenseman Ryan Misiak scored his seventh goal of the season at the 4:46 mark of overtime to propel the Lakers to a 1-0 victory at Bentley in the best-of-three quarterfinal round. Mercyhurst moved to 17-14-4 overall while the Falcons dropped to 16-14-5.
After a Bentley flurry just moments earlier, defenseman Tyler Shiplo was able to chip the puck to Daniel Bahntge up the right wing boards. Bahntge found Misiak in the neutral zone and he beat Bentley's Jayson Argue through the five-hole from the left wing circle to commence the celebration from the Lakers' bench.
Misiak was honored with a spot on the All-Conference Second Team on Thursday afternoon. Bahntge, who picked up the primary assist, was a Third Team honoree.
It was just the fourth 1-0 overtime victory in Atlantic Hockey playoff history. Last season, Niagara defeated American International 4:43 into double overtime. Holy Cross defeated American International in 2009 and Canisius defeated Quinnipiac during the 2004 postseason; both of those instances were single OT periods.
Misiak's goal gave Murcyhurst netminder Brandon Wildung his first collegiate shutout -- a 40-save gem, including five saves in the overtime period. Wildung improved to 9-8-3.
