No. 7 Eagles top Warriors in shootout

By Aaron Schneider

ALBERT LEA, Minn. – Robert Morris University sealed a 3-2 victory that was decided by a 1-0 shootout over the Waldorf College hockey team during Friday’s Northern Collegiate Hockey League (NCHL) matchup.
The Warriors (18-11, 8-5) entered the series ranked No. 10 in the latest American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) Division II Central Region poll and held a 2-1 lead heading into the period.
“For much of the game, we executed our game plan well,” Waldorf coach Brett Shelanski said. “We came out a little bit tentative in the third trying to protect the lead and we have to stay aggressive there and continue to attack.”
The Warriors received goals from freshman Ryan Veillet and senior Reed Loucks while sophomore Travis Park added an assist.
Tyler Teglia lifted the No. 7 Eagles (21-9-1, 8-2) with the lone goal scored by either team during the shootout. Vito Bruno and Joey Daniels notched goals for Robert Morris during regulation. Brett Leppeck and Brad Voice each turned in assists.
The Eagles outshot Waldorf 40-36. Waldorf sophomore Ronald Paulson racked up 37 saves while Robert Morris’ Andrew Poetzinger tallied 34 saves.
During the ninth minute of the first period, Veillet put the Warriors on the scoreboard with an unassisted goal.
Bruno evened the score 15 minutes into the first period as Leppeck set him up for the score.
Waldorf gained a 2-1 advantage as Loucks deflected a pass by Park into the goal during the fourth minute of the second period.
The Warriors maintained a one-goal edge when they entered the third period, but the Eagles knotted the score at 2-all when Daniels took a pass from Voice and found the back of the net with 12 minutes remaining.
Waldorf didn’t allow Robert Morris to earn the upper hand in regulation despite facing a two-man disadvantage.
“We did a great job killing a 5-on-3 for two full minutes and got some of our energy back out of that,” Shelanski said.
The score stayed at 2-all for the remainder of regulation and five extra minutes of overtime was not enough to break the tie.
Tegila delivered the puck through the two-hole for the game-winning score on Robert Morris’ third attempt of the shootout. After stopping the first two shots, Poetzinger shut down Waldorf’s final opportunity for the equalizer.
The Warriors and Eagles split last year’s NCHL regular-season title, but Waldorf came out on top in the inaugural NCHL Tournament championship. It’s expected to be another battle the Warriors wrap up conference play against Robert Morris on Saturday, starting at 7 p.m. at Albert Lea City Arena.
“We had some chances late that we just couldn’t get to go in unfortunately,” Shelanski said. “We have to bring the same energy and effort on Saturday, stay aggressive for 60 minutes and capitalize on our scoring chances.”