Thursday Thriller: Nordiques Notch an Overtime Win on the Road

Ryan Santiago was the hero for Maine in overtime

Maine 5 @ Elmira 4 (OT) - The Maine Nordiques earned a 5-4 overtime win against the Elmira Aviators on Thursday night at the LeCom Events Center, finishing with a strong push in the extra frame. Maine opened the first period with three goals. Dante Rodriguez started the scoring with a power-play goal at 16:15, and Elmira responded with a power-play finish from Matt Maglio at 12:30. Maine regained the lead when Jack Klevby scored another power-play goal at 2:21, and the Nordiques extended the advantage when Braden Franck tallied an even-strength goal at 1:59. In the second period, both teams continued to generate quality opportunities. Cole Estey scored for Maine at 14:31, and Maglio added his second goal of the game for Elmira at 2:25. The Aviators kept the pressure on in the third period, starting with a short-handed goal from Nico Patrick Pohjola at 4:09 to make it a one-goal game. Elmira added another goal in the third to tie the matchup and force overtime. In the extra period, Maine capitalized on its offensive pressure and secured the game-winning goal by Ryan Santiago to complete a 51-shot performance and improve to 12-3-1-1 on the season. Goaltender Matthew Wood made 20 saves on 24 shots for the Nordiques. Elmira goaltender Vladimir Pechenin turned aside 46 of 51 shots in a strong effort for the Aviators, who moved to a 7-10-1-0 record.