Lake Orion, Rochester United play to 4-4 draw

ROCHESTER HILLS >> The Lake Orion and Rochester United hockey teams skated to a 4-4 draw Saturday evening at the Onyx Ice Arena.

PHOTO GALLERY FROM LAKE ORION VS. ROCHESTER UNITED

Lake Orion led 4-2 early in the third period on the strength of three power play goals – two by Lucas Barber and one for T.J. Hirschfield – as the Dragon special teams were dominant at both ends of the ice.

“They moved the puck really well,” Dragons head coach Nick Field said. “Whatever their (Rochester United’s) penalty kill was doing, whether they were being passive or being aggressive, we made adjustments and the kids moved the puck really well and were able to find some quality looks.”

But Rochester United made up for their special teams struggles with strong five-on-five play, and United seemed to get better as the game went along, out shooting the Dragons in both the second and third periods.

“I thought five-on-five we carried the pace a little bit. We’ve just got to be smart and stay out of the box,” Rochester United head coach Bryan Kowalski said. “It was nice we got into a little bit of a rhythm there. We were able to roll four lines, which is essential to compete in good hockey games.”

United would claw back one goal with 13:37 to play when Mitchell Shell shoveled in a loose puck in front of the net, cutting Lake Orion’s lead to 4-3. Rochester United then tied the game with 6:43 to play when Matthew Kanaras snapped home a wrist shot for his second goal of the game.

Both teams had quality chances to get the win in overtime but the goaltenders were simply too good in the extra session. Lake Orion goaltender Reid Marshall made a fantastic diving save with 5:25 left in overtime – lunging to his left across an open net to snag a point-blank shot. At the other end, Rochester United goalie Caleb Godlewski simply swallowed up a breakaway attempt about two minutes later to preserve the game for his team.

“I’m happy to get away with a point. The boys worked really hard today,” Kowalski said. “I thought when they got a chance out there those guys were coming in strong. We had a couple chances to bury there. We just couldn’t get it done,” he added.

Kanaras had also given Rochester United an early lead, firing one in from the high slot for a 1-0 United lead midway through the first period.

But Barber would tie the game with his first power play goal just over three minutes later and the teams would go into the first intermission tied 1-1.

Rochester would go back in front early in the second period on a goal by Drew Stempien only to have Lake Orion answer back with two quick goals to take the lead. The Dragons tied the game with 6:36 to play in the second period on a breakaway goal by Gabe Potyk. The puck barely crossed the line, and after everyone had settled down, Rochester United were whistled for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty – and the Dragons cashed in that powerplay for a 3-2 lead.

Lake Orion (8-3-1, 4-1-1 OAA Red) will have a few days off before heading to Grand Rapides next weekend for games against East Grand Rapids and Grand Rapids Catholic Central next Friday and Saturday.

“When you have a two-goal lead in the third, it’s very disappointing to come away with a tie out of that,” Field said. “The tie does not feel good right now. But the good news is that they fought hard, and we found a way not to lose. So, it’s disappointing we didn’t get the win with a two-goal lead in the third, but at least we didn’t get a loss out of it,” he added.

Rochester United (6-5-2, 3-2-2 OAA Red) travels to Farmington on Thursday for another divisional match up against the Farmington Hills Flyers.