FOXBORO – Fractions of a second.
All that is needed to win a hockey game.
And it was all the Ottawa Attack needed as they captured the College Open championship at New England Pro Am Hockey’s 2018 Pre-Draft Showcase. They defeated Pyramid Hockey 1-0 in as time expired in overtime on Sunday afternoon at the Foxboro Sports Center.
The pace of play was furious throughout the contest, but the defenses were stout as both sides yielded little in terms of scoring chances. Neither team slowed, but while the scoreboard remained even at 0-0, Pyramid emerged as the more dominant of the two sides as time wore on.
They controlled much of the possession, while their scoring chances were better and more plentiful. No matter what they tried, however, they could not break one behind Ottawa netminder Josh Ward. All of regulation time would elapse with neither side scoring a goal.
Pyramid was buzzing again throughout the 3-on-3 overtime session, but the Ottawa backend continued to hold and thwart every attack, while still having few chances of their own.
All they needed, however, was just one.
Seemingly their only real threat throughout the extra time.
With a shootout to decide the championship looming, the two teams came out of a timeout with less than 15-seconds on the game clock and set up for a face-off in the Pyramid zone.
The puck went to the net off the draw. The bodies piled up in front of the net. Amidst the chaos, a puck finally found its way across a goal line. A championship-deciding goal credited to Attack defenseman Alex Rossides with no time remaining on the clock.
2018 Pre-Draft College Open All-Tournament Team
Forwards
Will Collins (Ottawa Attack), Jack Ford and Pat Murphy (Pyramid Hockey)
Defense
Bobby Dempster (Ottawa Attack) and Dylan Herzog (Pyramid Hockey)
Goaltender
Brody Bernard (Ottawa Attack)
Most Valuable Player
Matthew Vermaeten (Ottawa Attack)
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