MANCHESTER, N.H. — Lawrence Academy looked like it had squandered its last chance at a comeback.
Down a goal with 1:01 to play in the third period, the Spartans went to the box. But head coach Robbie Barker's team got possession of the puck, pulled goalie Vincent Lamberti and rushed toward the Frederick Gunn net. With 22.1 seconds left in regulation, senior forward Josh Erickson slipped a shot through Frederick Gunn goalie Ryan Crowshaw's (West Hartford, Conn.) legs to tie the game and force overtime.
That gave Lawrence Academy all the momentum it needed heading into overtime. That's when junior forward Owen Leahy scored on a breakaway to give Lawrence Academy the 4-3 win and the Piatelli/Simmons Small School title.
It was his second goal of the afternoon.
The scoring didn't open until the second period when Lawrence Academy senior defenseman Marek Thompson set up forward Clarence Beltz for a goal off the rush with just under 13 minutes to play in the frame.
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Frederick Gunn responded roughly three minutes later when junior forward Alex LoGuercio (Monroe, Conn.) got the puck in Lawrence Academy's slot and ripped a shot over Lamberti to tie the game, 1-1.
That set the stage for quite the third period.
It began with Frederick Gunn leading goal-scorer LoGuercio backhanding a pass from linemate Jacob Rothman over Lamberti to give Frederick Gunn a 2-1 lead.
Shortly after, Frederick Gunn capitalized on a power play. Senior forward Kyle Smyth scored on a wraparound goal to extend the lead.
Lawrence Academy cut the lead to 3-2 with 8:21 to play in the third period. Leahy found the scoresheet when he fought hard around the net and pushed the puck past Crowshaw to cut the lead to 3-2.
Here are some takeaways from the game:
1. Leahy led his team in points all season and he showed up in a big way on Sunday. His two goals were massive because the first goal gave the Spartans life when they were down and out and the second won the game. Big players come up in big moments and Leahy did that and then some on Sunday.
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2. LoGuercio was Frederick Gunn's leading goal-scorer this season and he came to play in the championship. His two tallies were nice. The first was a nice shot from the slot, while the second was good awareness to go right to the front of the net and finish an opportunity.
3. Early in overtime, Lamberti robbed Frederick Gunn forward Peter Unger (Stamford, Conn.) on a high-danger chance. Sunday capped off quite a run for the senior in the Lawrence Academy net. Despite giving up two goals in the third period, he stayed focused and never gave up another tally.
