Kindle, Wayne State Rally In Closing Minutes For Draw With Canisius, 2-2

Friday, October 15, 1999
by Jennifer Kasprzak

Buffalo, NY -- Just when the Canisius College Ice Griffs looked as if they were going to record a victory in their first regular-season game, Wayne State fought back with two goals in the final five minutes of regulation to finish in a 2-2 tie.

The tying goal came after an icing call against Canisius with only 15 seconds remaining allowed the Warriors to pull netminder David Guerrera for the faceoff deep in the Ice Griffs' zone. Wayne State won the face, and the puck was drawn back to the point. Defenseman Jason Clarke's shot was kicked out by Griffs' goalie Sean Weaver, but Tyler Kindle cashed in on the rebound, sending the bout to overtime and ultimately, the draw.

"It was a set play," noted Kindle about the tying goal. "It didn't set up like it was drawn up, but we just threw the puck to the net. The rebound happened to come right to me, I had a wide-open net, and I just put it in."

Canisius got on the board, first 9:08 into the opening period. Ice Griff Jeff Jurek corralled the puck behind the Warriors' net and made a pass out front, where captain Rob Othmann stepped up and flipped the shot in on the short side of Guerrera. Sophomore David Deeves was also credited with an assist.

Then at 14:29, the Ice Griffs struck again to make the score 2-0. Junior Seth Wiener broke into Wayne State territory and entered the slot untouched. He proceeded to rifle a low wrist shot past Guerrera for the unassisted tally. Canisius continued to dominate over Wayne State in the second period, but couldn't find the net.

"We had a lot of opportunities -- we just couldn't cash in," explained Othmann. "We didn't bear down on the puck and they came back on us in the third period, because we started letting back."

With the Ice Griffs letting down their guard in the third period, Kindle took the opportunity to strike. With 4:15 remaining in regulation time, Canisius gave the puck away in their own zone. Kindle collected it and blasted a shot over defenseman Joel Tarvudd, who went down to block the shot, and past Weaver on the glove side.

That set up Kindle's heroics in the final minute.

Kindle was pleased with the way his team battled back. "We knew we could get back in the game, and came out in the third giving 100 percent. It is definitely huge for us to get a point out of this on the road, and will give us a lift going into tomorrow's game."

The game's three stars were presented to Kindle, Wiener and Othmann.

Jennifer Kasprzak is a MAAC game reporter for U.S. College Hockey Online and sports editor for the Canisius Griffin.