DEARBORN, Mich. – With critical playoff seeding on the line, No. 23 University of Michigan-Dearborn (17-12-2, 16-6-1) squeaked out a 3-2 victory over No. 14 Lawrence Tech (24-7-0, 16-7-0). Quest Bigelow tapped in a loose puck in front of the net with 0.01 seconds remaining on the clock to give Dearborn a crucial victory on Friday (Feb. 17) in the Wolverines' home finale.
LTU scored the game's first two goals as they capitalized on two open looks in the first 20 minutes of the contest.
UM-Dearborn broke their 140-minute scoreless drought in the second period as the Wolverines' special teams unit killed off a hooking penalty. As the Wolverines went to even strength, Brendan West broke out down the right wing. With just the goaltender to beat, West lifted the puck over the netminder's right shoulder and brought the Wolverines within one.
The Wolverines' power play struggled on the night as they went 0-7 on their opportunities with a man advantage.
The third period was all Wolverines, as UM-Dearborn outshot LTU 14-6 in the final period. The offensive onslaught led to the Wolverines equalizing the contest with 3:22 remaining in the third. A loose puck in front of the net was tapped in by the captain Joey Cullinan who has continually shown up in clutch moments for the Wolverines. Brendan West and Bailey Byrd added assists on the goal.
The Wolverines ramped up their forecheck in a tie game and pinned LTU in their defensive zone. With seconds remaining on the clock, Dakota Potter sent a puck in front of the net, and Blake Petterle laid it off to Bigelow, who hammered in the loose puck with 0:01 seconds remaining on the game clock.
Eric Polzin (5-5-1) was credited as the game's third star as he stopped 22 shots and shut out LTU in the final two periods to keep the Wolverines' chances alive.
The victory brought the Wolverines into a tie for second place with LTU, and it was Head Coach Chris Haltinner's 200th career victory.
Up Next
UM-Dearborn is back in action on Saturday (Feb. 18) in a deciding game for the No. 2 seed in the WHAC Tournament next week in Fort Wayne, Ind. The puck drops at 8 pm as the Wolverines wrap up the regular season against LTU.
