| Follow @UVMmlaxFINAL SCORE: Vermont 14, Binghamton 13 | Box ScoreVESTAL, N.Y. – Ian MacKay's goal with just 10 seconds remaining lifted Vermont to a 14-13 victory over Binghamton in the regular season finale for both teams Saturday afternoon at the Bearcat Sports Complex. With the victory, Vermont secured the No. 3 seed in the America East playoffs and will face-off against second-seeded Stony Brook in a semifinal matchup.
Vermont closes out the regular season with a 6-9 overall record and 4-2 mark in America East, which is the best conference record for the Catamounts in program history. The playoff berth for UVM is its first since 2010 and the No. 3 seed represents the best seed for the team in program history.
MacKay (5 g) and
Dyson White (1 g, 4 ast) registered five points apiece, while
Cam Milligan (3 g, 2 ast) and
James Barlow (2 g, 2 ast) chipped in with a combined five goals and four assists to lead Vermont in the contest.
Paul O'Donnell and Tucker Nelson tallied five points each, and JT Hauck added four points to pace the Binghamton attack.
Justin Rosenberg stopped 15 shots to earn his third consecutive win in net for Vermont, while his counterpart, Tanner Cosens, took the loss despite making 16 saves.
Binghamton (4-9, 2-4 AE) scored the opening three goals of the contest, before
Nick Bartlett got the Catamounts on the board at the 5:58 mark off a feed from
James Barlow. The Bearcats took a 3-1 advantage over the Catamounts into the second period.
Vermont outscored Binghamton 4-1 in the second quarter behind a pair of goals from MacKay. Bartlett and
Alex Stanko added the other tallies for UVM, as the Catamounts took a 5-4 advantage into the break.
With Vermont still leading by one (6-5) midway through the third period, Hauck and O'Donnell netted back-to-back scores as Binghamton regained the lead, 7-6. Barlow answered back for Vermont with the final goal of the stanza to even things up, 7-7, with one quarter to play.
The Bearcats opened a one-goal advantage, 10-9, midway through the final frame, before Milligan and O'Donnell traded a pair of goals in a span of two-plus minutes as the teams battled back-and-forth.
O'Donnell's second tally during the stretch put Binghamton up one, but Vermont responded with goals from White and MacKay to regain the lead, 13-12 with 1:16 to play.
Just 29 seconds later, Sean Gilroy netted his second goal of the contest off a feed from Nelson to even the score at 13-13 with 47 seconds showing on the clock.
Vermont was able to gain possession after the Binghamton goal, and worked the ball into the offensive end. MacKay found the back of the net for his fifth score of the contest and the eventual game-winner, as the Catamounts secured the victory and the No. 3 seed in the conference playoffs.
UVM is set for an America East Semifinal matchup with Stony Brook on Thursday (April 30) at 4:30 p.m. The game will be played at Bob Ford Field in Albany, and AmericaEast.tv will have a free live stream of the contest. The winner will head to the championship game on Saturday (May 2) at 10 a.m.
