Junior midfielder Will Snider came into Saturday’s matchup against Johns Hopkins with just three career goals. The Seattle native nearly doubled his output by the end of the game, doing it in the biggest moments.
Snider tied the game with 2:37 to go in regulation, then won it off a screamer from the left side in triple overtime for an 8-7 win. With the goal, No. 3 Maryland was able to win the Big Ten regular-season title and do something it hadn’t done in over 50 years: win back-to-back games at Homewood Field.
The No. 7 Blue Jays (9-4, 3-2) took a 7-5 lead with 9:44 left, and for much of the fourth quarter, it looked like that would remain the score when the final horn sounded. But the Terps’ offense had other ideas, and tied the game with two goals in less than a minute late.
With Connor Kelly being held to no goals and an assist, Maryland needed big contributions from others. It got them from Logan Wisnauskas, who had a hat trick; and Tim Rotanz, who had two goals and an assist.
The Terps pieced together faceoffs for the fifth straight week, and once again, were better in the second half. Justin Shockey started the game, and couldn’t get in a rhythm despite scoring his first career goal in the first quarter. Austin Henningsen relieved him in the second half and was much better, going 7-for-11 compared to Shockey’s 3-for-10.
All goals in the first quarter came in the first six minutes. Hopkins’ Joel Tinney scored the first goal of the game, but Shockey responded immediately with a faceoff win and goal. About two minutes later, Shack Stanwick scored for the Blue Jays, and Rotanz answered back on Maryland’s next offensive possession.
Following Rotanz’s goal, the game turned into a defensive slugfest. Maryland put countless shots wide, and struggled with the physicality of Johns Hopkins’ defense. The Blue Jays made an effort to double Kelly whenever he drove to the goal, and bottled up the Terps’ offense with strong close defense and numerous stick checks.
Maryland’s defensive effort started and ended with Dan Morris. The senior goalie played one of his best halves this season in the first half, making six saves on eight shots on goal. Wisnauskas ended the nearly 23-minute scoring drought with 1:01 left in the second quarter, and Johns Hopkins thought it tied the game when Connor DeSimone got one past Morris as time expired. The goal would not count, though, as DeSimone was called for a crease violation.
DeSimone wouldn’t have to wait much longer, scoring on a bouncer less than one minute into the third quarter to tie the game. Alex Concannon scored to give Hopkins the lead with 12:14 to go in the quarter, only to see Wisnauskas answer back to tie the game less than three minutes later.
Joel Tinney continued the back-and-forth third quarter by converting on a man-up opportunity with 6:48 to go, the first for either team. Maryland continued to struggle on the offensive end, but Rotanz bailed out his teammates to tie the game with 20.8 seconds left in the third quarter.
Just like the previous quarter, Hopkins scored two goals to start the fourth. The Terps continued to look out of sync with Kelly bottled up until late in the quarter. Bernhardt found Wisnauskas in front of the goal with 3:33 to go, and after winning the ensuing faceoff, Kelly found Snider for the biggest goal of his career to tie the game. The Blue Jays had one chance to win it with 11 seconds left in regulation, but couldn’t get a shot off.
Tinney skied a shot after Hopkins won the faceoff to start extra time, and the Blue Jays defense bailed him out at the other end for the rest of the period. Tinney made another impressive play to start the second overtime, reaching over a scrum to win the faceoff. His shot was not as good, and went right to Morris. Both teams got another possession and couldn’t end it.
Johns Hopkins was called for a faceoff violation to start the third overtime and never got the ball. Wisnauskas passed it to Snider, who put one past Brock Turnbaugh 50 seconds into the period.
Maryland finishes the regular season 11-2 overall and 4-1 in the Big Ten. It will be the top seed in next week’s Big Ten tournament, and will face the loser of Ohio State-Rutgers on Thursday.
Three things to know
1. This was a thrilling game. “The Rivalry” did not disappoint. It was back and forth throughout and full of exciting plays. It’s the first triple-overtime game in the history of the matchup, and the Big Ten hardware implications simply added to it.
2. Will Snider had the biggest game of his life. Snider has been little used on attack this year, scoring three goals on just 12 shots. If he continues to be a threat, that would be huge for Maryland’s offense heading into the postseason.
3. Dan Morris was outstanding. In a sellout and raucous crowd of over 10,000, the fifth-year senior stayed calm. He tied his season high with 13 saves, and kept the Terps in the game when their offense went cold.