BURLINGTON, Vt. - Junior assistant captain Peter Lenes (Shelburne, Vt.) scored with 32 seconds left in the third period during a 6-on-4 to lift Vermont to a 1-1 tie against Holy Cross in the first round of the Sheraton/TD Banknorth Catamount Cup in front of a crowd of 3,850 at Gutterson Fieldhouse on Saturday night. Following a scoreless overtime, the Catamounts won the shootout 4-3 to advance to the title game of the Catamount Cup on Sunday at 6:30pm against Quinnipiac. Holy Cross will meet Western Michigan in the consolation game at 3:30pm.
Vermont (4-6-4; 3-3-2 HEA) and Holy Cross (5-4-5; 4-3-3 AHA) both went 3-for-5 in the first shootout to force a sudden victory shootout. Lenes, junior assistant captain Corey Carlson (Two Harbors, Minn.) and sophomore Colin Vock (Plymouth, Mich.) each scored for the Catamounts.
Senior goalie Joe Fallon (Bemidji, Minn.) turned away Dale Reinhardt's first shot attempt for the Crusaders in the second shootout. Then sophomore Viktor Stålberg (Gothenburg, Sweden) beat Holy Cross goalie Adam Roy for the game-winner.
"I thought it this was our most complete hockey game tonight," Vermont head coach Kevin Sneddon said. "Joe (Fallon) was very solid...I was thrilled to see he had some confidence back there. He made a couple of huge saves for us and I thought their goaltender was equally good."
Roy stopped 36 shots for Holy Cross. Fallon finished with 18 saves in his first start since December 1 in a 4-0 loss to Providence.
"I felt okay," Fallon said. "I didn't get tested early on and that really helped. The team did a really good job of clearing guys in front of the net. I feel like I came back from break recharged and ready for the second half."
The Catamounts out shot the Crusaders 25-10 through the first two periods but the game was scoreless going to the third.
Holy Cross took a 1-0 lead with a goal by freshman Everett Sheen at 5:45 of the final period.
With less than a minute remaining Vermont pulled Fallon from net during a power play for a 6-on-4. Lenes blasted a shot from the right point to tie the game 1-1 with 32 seconds left. Junior co-captain Dean Strong (Mississauga, Ontario) and Vock both assisted.
"It's our tournament, so we definitely wanted to be in the championship game," said Lenes, who finished with a team-high seven shots.
UVM held Holy Cross to 0-for-5 on the power play. The Crusaders entered the game first in the nation on the man advantage (29.6-percent).
Vermont went 1-for-5 on the power play. The Catamounts have scored nine power-play goals in the last seven games.
Vermont seeks its second Sheraton/TD Banknorth Catamount Cup title against Quinnipiac (9-5-2) on Sunday at 6:30pm. Western Michigan (6-11-0) faces Holy Cross in the consolation game at 3:30pm. Both games will be televised on CN8 - The Comcast Network.
Sunday features the annual Teddy Bear Toss during UVM's game, sponsored by Vermont Teddy Bear. Tickets for Sunday's games still remain and can be purchased online at www.uvmathletics.com or at the Gutterson Fieldhouse box office beginning at 2:30pm
NOTES: Quinnipiac defeated Western Michigan 2-1 in the first game of the Catamount Cup to advance to Sunday's title game ... Vermont is 2-0-1 all-time against Holy Cross ... The Catamounts are 4-1-2 under Kevin Sneddon in the Catamount Cup ... UVM is 1-0-4 in overtime this season and 7-3-18 in its last 28 overtime contests ... Peter Lenes is tied with Corey Carlson for the team lead in goals with five.