Tigers, Friars Battle To Draw In Goaltenders’ Duel

In a game which started slowly, the eighth-ranked Providence College Friars skated to a 1-1 tie with the ninth-ranked Colorado College Tigers Friday at the Colorado Springs World Arena.

Neither team was able to produce much offense in the opening 20 minutes of play, though the Tigers outshot the Friars 16-6 in the first period. The second period was a repeat of the first as once again neither team was able to get on the scoreboard, the only difference being that the Friars outshot CC 12-9.

The Friars ended the scoreless draw early in the third, taking a 1-0 lead at :22 on J.J. Picinic’s eighth goal of the season. On the power play, Marc Suderman stole the puck in the PC offensive zone and fired a slapshot that deflected off netminder Colin Zulianello’s pads. Picinic collected the rebound and beat the Tiger netminder for the game’s first goal.

CC tied the game at the 8:46 mark of the third on a Joe Cullen goal. The Tigers’ Colin Stuart blasted a shot off Friar goalie Nolan Schaefer’s pads, leaving the rebound in front, and Cullen skated in and lifted the rebound past Schaefer.

The Friars skated the majority of the overtime period on the power play after CC’s Alex Kim was called for a five-minute major for checking from behind at 18:24 of the third. Despite the man advantage, the Friars were not able to break the scoreless tie and the game ended a 1-1 draw.

Zulianello finished with 29 saves, while Schaefer stopped 37 shots for the Friars. With the tie, Providence’s record stands at 7-2-2, while Colorado College is now 7-3-1.