Box Score NEW BEDFORD, Mass. – The Corsairs registered the final three goals and the only two scores in the third period on Thursday evening at Hetland Arena to secure a 5-5 tie with the visiting Assumption Greyhounds and improve to 0-3-2 overall.
Junior Mike Kelly (Stoneham, Mass.) netted both the first and game-tying scores for the Corsairs, with his final goal coming at the 13:55 mark in the final period to cap UMD's three-goal streak. Kelly finished the evening with nine shots.
Sophomore Jerry Laakso (Tampere, Finland) was unable to convert on a penalty shot later in the final stanza that would have given the Corsairs the lead, as he was denied by Assumption goalkeeper Nick Commesso (Marshfield, Mass.). In all, Commesso recorded 49 saves on the evening.
The Greyhounds got on the board first in the contest, with Brandon Bete (Greenfield, Mass.) opening scoring with an unassisted goal at the 4:36 mark. Kelly then answered on a UMD power play, finishing on assists from senior Brandon Gilmore (Quincy, Mass.) and sophomore Casey Shea (Woburn, Mass.). Assumption's Kevin Murphy (North Conway, N.H.) then gave his team the edge with six minutes remaining to put the Greyhounds up 2-1 to enter the first break.
The second period saw a flurry of scoring, as both teams totaled five goals on 29 combined shots. Assumption's Dante Tomassini (North Branford, Conn.) gave the Greyhounds a 3-1 advantage on the power play early in the period. The Corsairs quickly responded, as senior Mike Grassi (Reading, Mass.) netted the first goal of his collegiate career, converting on a long shot with a pass from Gilmore to put UMD within one.
With the game still even, the Greyhounds nearly put the game out of reach in the remainder of the third period, potting two more goals. Gilmore then buried a score of his own late in the period to begin the Corsair scoring streak, sending in a slap shot with assists from Grassi and Mike Sones (Waterdown, Ontario).
Sones put the Corsairs within one to begin scoring in the third period, converting on a power play in the sixth minute, until Kelly capped the evening.
For UMD, goalkeeper Drew Michals (Newton, Mass.) registered 29 saves, with Sones' 10 shots leading UMD on the night. The Greyhounds were paced by Alex Erban's (Attleboro, Mass.) five tries.
The Corsairs were 2-for-4 on power plays on the evening, while Assumption was able to convert on only two of seven.
UMass Dartmouth returns to MASCAC play on Saturday, as it hosts 2-2 Salem State at Hetland Arena at 4 p.m.
