East Catholic scored in the final 30 seconds of regulation time, then netted the winning goal 1:37 into overtime to stun Fermi-Enfield/East Granby/Stafford 5-4 in high school ice hockey action Thursday at the Enfield Twin Rinks.
Trailing 4-3, the Eagles pulled goaltender Thomas Usseglio in favor of a sixth attacker with 59 seconds to play in the third period. The strategy worked when Evan Cedrone netted the tying goal, forcing overtime.
"Jake McCarthy is our best draw guy, and he got it done, not once but twice," East Catholic head coach Drew Clarkin said.
In the extra session, Alex Manner scored off assists by Patrick Bishop and Liam Donahue, propeling East Catholic to its fourth straight victory to start the season.
"It was just a great game," Clarkin said. "Both goaltenders made great saves, it was just back and forth. It was a real fun game."
Donahue opened the scoring 2:30 into the contest, but Avery Boissy scored a shorthanded goal for the Falcons to create a 1-1 tie after one period.
Brian O'Connell pushed the Eagles back in front in the second period, but Matt Boulette countered with a pair of goals to give the Falcons their first lead at 3-2 heading into the second intermission.
Jake McCarthy tied it for East Catholic with six minutes remaining in regulation time. The Falcons countered with a go-ahead goal by Jacob Quinn with 3:06 left to play, setting up East Catholic's late heroics.
"We made some mistakes that led to their two goals," Falcons head coach Frank Genovese said.
Ussegio made 15 saves for the Eagles, while Aaron Lickwar stopped 26 shots for the Falcons.
"We got great goaltending tonight, on several point-blank chances," Genovese said.
East Catholic (4-0) hosts E.O. Smith/Tolland/Windham Saturday at the Bolton Ice Palace at 3 p.m. Fermi-Enfield/East Granby/Stafford (2-2-1) entertains Conard Saturday at 4 p.m.