ADRIAN, Mich. – The Calvin ACHA D1 hockey team advanced to the finals of the inaugural GL6 Tournament with a dramatic 4-3 semifinal victory over Grand Valley State Thursday night at the Arrington Ice Arena.
Calvin (24-5-0) will face host Adrian (28-3-2) in the championship final at 7 p.m. Friday night at Arrington Ice Arena. The winner will receive the
Mike Petrusma Cup – named after longtime Calvin hockey coach
Mike Petrusma who passed away this past November.
Calvin's
Ethan Pool converted a shot in front of the goal off a 3-on-2 Calvin rush.
Joel Fonovic fed Pool for the game-winner, dropping a pass to the lip of the goal that Pool slammed home to break a 3-3 tie with just 2:16 left in regulation.
Grand Valley State lifted its goaltender in the closing two minutes but could not find the back of the net as Calvin skated away with the victory.
The Knights started off fast, scoring two goals in the opening 3:05 of the first period. Joel Dielman scored just 2:33 into the first period and
Owen Schrader scored just 32 seconds later to give the Knights a stunning 2-0 lead.
Grand Valley State answered with a goal three minutes later and tied the game 2-2 on another goal just 8:45 into the contest. With 4:34 left in the opening period,
Tony Eaton got free and scored off a feed from Dielman to give the Knights a 3-2 lead heading into period two.
Grand Valley State tied things up 3-3 with just 4:47 left in the second, setting up a tight finish.
Both teams played close to the vest until the Knights were able to scoop up a loose puck off a Grand Valley offensive push to create the 3-on-2 opportunity that led to Pool's game-winning goal.
Calvin finished with a 44-21 shots on goal advantage.
Adam Yost had 18 saves in goal for the Knights in the win.
At 24-5-0, Calvin has now set a new record for most wins in a season as an ACHA D1 program.
COACHES COMMENT: "Tonight was yet another example of our resilience as a team," said Calvin interim head coach
Josh Petrusma. "We got off to a quick start, but Grand Valley did well to battle back and keep the game tight. Despite it not being our best performance, we continued to believe that we would deliver. We're looking forward to the challenge of playing against a great opponent tomorrow. This game presents us the opportunity to measure up against a top-level team and to try and win a trophy that was recently named after our (longtime head) coach. I am confident that we'll bring our best effort tommorow as we look to take the next step as a program."
