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Salem, Londonderry skate to a tie

SALEM – Maybe it’s fitting for a match that featured an empty-net, own goal – in the second period, no less – to end in a tie.

Salem, which had the own-goal mishap, scored an early third period goal against visiting Londonderry to tie the score at 2 apiece, and neither team was able to get another in a Division 1 matchup last night at the Icenter.

“I’ll take a win or a tie any way that I can get it,” Londonderry coach Peter Bedford said. “And this was a big tie because of the way the point situation works.”

Trailing by one midway through the second period, Londonderry (6-5-1 overall, 4-4-1 in division) tied the match on a tough-angle goal by Brian Greene with 7:04 remaining. At that point, the Lancers had taken all nine shots in the period.

Then in a delayed penalty situation, Salem coach Mark McGinn pulled goalie Nick Phair, but as he was leaving the ice a Blue Devil tried centering the puck from the corner. As luck – good or bad depending on what side you were on – the puck took a couple bad bounces before traveling the length of the rink and into the net Phair had just vacated with 3:03 remaining.

“That was kind of a lucky break obviously,” said Bedford, whose club defeated Salem 5-2 a week earlier. “That’s a rarity that you don’t see very often. But I guess the flip side of it is that there will be some this year that won’t go our way. I think it all evens out in the wash.

“The guy obviously wants to send it back for a point shot, I don’t even know where the (passer) was. I just saw the puck. You kind of sit back and say ‘How did that come about?’ That’s why I’m saying, it kind of evens out because in our last game (against Londonderry) there was a questionable call that went against us.”

Salem (8-3-1, 5-3-1) was a bit shell shocked the rest of the period and was unable to take advantage of almost a minute of 5-on-3. The Blue Devils, however, did knot the score 89 seconds into the final period on a goal by Brandon Travaglini.

In overtime, both teams were unsuccessful on power plays although it appeared that Ryan Griffin appeared to score on a slap shot with 1:33 left but the whistle blew an instant before his shot because the goal came off its moorings.

“I liked our attack,” Bedford said. “I think we do a good job of cycling particularly in a big rink. I think our skating really showed that we’re quick.”

For the second game in a row, a Salem goalie came up big. This time it was junior Nick Phair, who stopped 39 shots, including 15 in the third period. In a 2-1 loss to Pinkerton on Saturday, senior A.J. Soucy had 34 saves.

“I’ve got a great duo back there,” said Salem coach Mark McGinn, whose squad took a the early lead when Ryan Corbett finished off a three-on-one break 5 minutes into the match. “They’re seeing the shots. I think we were a little sloppy defensively today as opposed to the Pinkerton game … (The empty net) counts. That’s what the rule is. I knew it, I’d just never seen it before. It looked like slow motion.”