Tar Heels hold off Rider in Thrilling 5-4 Overtime win
Hillsborough, NC – Members of the Appalachian State Men’s Club ice hockey team were in attendance for the second night in a row to lead the Hurricane Helene Relief Drive and serve as honorary captains for the game. They also delivered a motivational pregame speech to the Tar Heels
prior to puck drop.
The pregame speech was effective as Carolina got on the board quickly on a shot from the point from Kevin Ma at the 2:44 mark of the first period to give the Tar Heels a 1-0 lead. The scoring continued when forward Daniel Kauber collected a bouncing puck in front of the net on a backhand shot from Nick Deangelo at the 8:52 mark, making the game 2-0. The Tar Heels continued their scorching hot first period and extended their lead when Nick Deangelo had his centering pass redirected by a Rider defender with 6:33 left in the first
period.
Goaltender Ander Andreev was excellent in the first period, fending off all 11 shots and
standing tall on many Rider scoring chances. Rider’s Liam Yeoman scored at the 1:54 mark of the second period to make the game 3-1.
The Tar Heels responded with 14:03 left in the second period, forward Matt Grady was able to bounce off a Rider defender and score five-hole to extend the Carolina lead to 4-1.
Rider added another goal when Dom Cerceo went post and in at the 8:14 mark, cutting the lead to 4-2. Rider forward Cole Schneider scored on the power play to make the score 4-3. The third period was a defensive battle, with both teams being held scoreless until Rider’s Cole Schneider scored his second goal of the game with 1:26 left in the third period, tying
the game 4-4 and sending the game into overtime.
The Tar Heels had their backs against the wall going into the overtime period. But with 2:21 left in overtime, Matt Grady stripped a Rider defender of the puck and found Tommy Gilligan who made no mistake around the outstretched pad of the goaltender to give the
Tar Heels a thrilling 5-4 overtime win.
“just tried to wait out the goalie, he kind of jumped in front of me and I had an empty net.” said Gilligan. “Pure elation, just huge to score that goal and help the team win.”