AMHERST – With eight seconds remaining in overtime, it seemed like Easthampton and Amherst were headed toward a draw during their Monday hockey matinee at Orr Rink.
But junior Mikey Thompson wasn’t ready to stop playing just yet.
The Eagles forced a turnover in their offensive zone, and Thompson shoveled a bouncing puck past Amherst goalie Spencer McDonald with less than a second to go to give Easthampton a 3-2 overtime win. Easthampton’s bench leaped over the boards to engulf their hero while Easthampton head coach Tim Pfau shot a quick glance at the clock to confirm the win.
“My first reaction was ‘What does that clock say?’ And I still saw time – tenth of a something… I couldn’t believe it,” Pfau said on the overtime goal. “That’s just Mikey Thompson being the animal that he is. That kid does not stop.”
Easthampton (2-2) had to claw its way past an Amherst side that had a two-goal cushion during the contest. The Hurricanes got on the board first with a goal by Cooper Beckwith just shy of four minutes into the first period. The Hurricanes had a chance to add a goal with two power plays late in the period, including a 1 minute, 15 second 5-on-3 opportunity with two Eagles in the box for tripping. The Easthampton penalty kill came up big, keeping the Amherst power play off the scoreboard and heading into the first intermission down just a goal.
Amherst (1-2) doubled its lead midway through the second period when Yuuki Ishida skated up the left wing and ripped a shot past goalie Paige Galpin to make it 2-0.
The Eagles appeared to get on the board with a power play chance late, but the net was dislodged seconds before the puck crossed the line, disallowing the goal. Undeterred, the Eagles scored again just moments later when Brennan Stortz got the Eagles on the board with just 32 seconds left in the second period.
Ethan Marowitz tied the game for the Eagles at the 10:25 mark of the third period, picking up a pass from Stortz and scoring on a breakaway to make it 2-2.
The last five minutes of the third period were madness, as both goalies made huge saves to keep the score tied, forcing overtime. Both Galpin and McDonald continued their sterling play until Thompson’s OT winner.