2008 Woodie Awards
MIH takes two wins from league rival HC; O'Brien breaks record
Brian Fitzsimmons
Issue date: 3/2/06 Section: Sports
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It took 54 saves from Jason Smith, Pierre-Luc O'Brien breaking a major statistical record, a nail-biting overtime which set up Saturday's grudge match and a quirky event that fooled opposing goaltender Tony Quesada, for the Pioneers to sweep Holy Cross Friday and Saturday in a home-and-home series that propelled them into a tie for first place.
This past Friday in Worcester, Mass., the Pioneers came out gunning as they built up a 3-0 lead in the first ten minutes of the first period.
Forwards Rocco Molinaro and Kyle Tyll and defenseman Bernie Chmiel led the explosive attack in the opening minutes with their goals, but Quesada returned to his usual dominant level for the duration of regulation.
The first place Crusaders stopped the bleeding with a score to end the first period, but was still far from evening the score in one of the most important contests of the season.
The home team continued to chip away and tied the game with two goals in the third period, which would ultimately force overtime, where O'Brien came to the rescue once again. With four seconds remaining, he scored and clinched the 4-3 win, breaking the school's record for points in a season.
"It's an honor to achieve something like that, but this is a team effort," O'Brien, a junior from Nicolet, Quebec, said. "Our top line has worked together all season, and has done a great job at adjusting and making positive changes."
The ride back to Milford for Saturday's match up wasn't filled with triumph, but intense focus because the mission wasn't completed. The Pioneers would not be happy until they gained another two points to move into a tie for first place, with two games left in the season.
Chmiel wasted no time in adding to his impressive numbers to become one of the heroes for the series; he blasting a shot past Quesada for the first score of the game. Later in the opening period, O'Brien struck yet again to give the Pioneers a 2-0 lead.
The Crusaders converted on two power plays late in the first and early in the second, but then fate took a twist in the favor of the Pioneers.