Yankees fan delivers for UMass hockey in overtime win at Frozen Fenway
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BOSTON - The University of Massachusetts hockey team's hero at Fenway Park on Saturday is a New York Yankees fan.
Michael Marcou of Kings Park, N.Y., scored with 22.3 seconds left in overtime to give the Minutemen a 3-2 win over Vermont in the first game of a Hockey East doubleheader at Frozen Fenway 2012.
With UMass on the power play, Marcou came in from the point, collected a rebound and tapped it through traffic by Catamounts goalie Rob Madore. Marcou then raced to the boards on the home-plate side of the rink, pumping his fist as his teammates mobbed him.
"Every time you play a big game like this you always envision yourself scoring the game winner," Marcou said. "It was my first one ever ... It was a pretty good experience to have here at Fenway."
While Marcou might root for the rival of the team that normally plays at Fenway, Minuteman coach Don "Toot" Cahoon is a lifelong Red Sox fan, and he compared Saturday's win to a big hit by David Ortiz.
"I think I can relate to Big Papi when he hits a walk-off home run in the 11th (inning)," Cahoon said. "The emotion of it and the intensity of it was everything it was billed to be ... It was a playoff-type environment. It was a great event from my perspective."
Marcou's goal gave sophomore goalie Jeff Teglia his first career win. He had been winless in 11 previous indoor starts in 1½ seasons for UMass. Teglia made a 24 saves, including one from close range on Colin Markison with less than a minute left in overtime, to make him undefeated outdoors.
"I can't tell you how much it meant to me to get the start tonight," Teglia said. "I credit my teammates for help me make the most of it. It was an unbelievable experience. I'll never forget this."
Things looked bleak for the Minutemen (7-8-5, 3-6-4 Hockey East) late in regulation when Patrick Kiley was whistled for a five-minute hit-from-behind major and a game misconduct with 2 minutes, 43 seconds left in the game, forcing UMass to kill a penalty for the end of the third period and almost half of overtime.
Vermont defenseman Michael Paliotta was called for boarding and a game misconduct with 1:17 left in overtime giving the Minutemen the power play on which Marcou capitalized.
The win gives UMass two key points in the Hockey East standings. The Minutemen return home to play Boston College at 7 p.m. Friday.
With Eric Filiou in the penalty box for boarding, the Catamounts (4-15-1, 1-11-1 Hockey East) took a 1-0 lead 9:43 into the game when Kyle Reynolds tapped the rebound of a Sebastian Stalberg shot past Teglia.
But the Vermont celebration was cut shot as Filiou redeemed himself 20 seconds later. Kiley backhanded a centering pass from the left-wing corner to Filiou, who tapped it home from the right faceoff circle deep in the shortstop hole, tying the game 1-1.
Danny Hobbs put the Minutemen ahead 2-1 with 1:10 played in the second period when he stole the puck deep in the Catamounts zone. He stepped around defenseman Paliotta and tucked the puck under Madore (25 saves),
But Drew MacKenzie tied the game 7:35 into the second.
There was no further scoring until Marcou struck, which was the first overtime goal for UMass since his brother James scored one against Yale in 2009.
"This was a great experience," said Marcou, who then flashed a mischievous smile. "Maybe I can say the Yankees won tonight."
NOTES - In the second game Saturday night, Maine defeated New Hampshire 5-4, also in overtime. ... The attendance for the doubleheader was 38,456. ... It was the first overtime game between UMass and Vermont since Dec. 5, 1970, also a 3-2 win by the Minutemen when both teams played in the Division II ECAC.
Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. Follow UMass coverage on Twitter at twitter.com/GazetteUMass. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook news feed at http://www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage.
