BRUNSWICK, ME. – Aided by the adrenaline of nearly eight minutes of power play action to run out regulation play, the Wesleyan men's hockey team entered the forced overtime period tied up at three with Bowdoin College before Jake Geraci '28 fell within striking distance of the game-winning goal and carried Wesleyan to a 4-3 NESCAC triumph from Bowdoin's Sidney J. Watson Arena.

As the clock continued to wind down in the final period of regulation play, it seemed as if the Polar Bears were unable to get out of their own way. While Bears goaltender Jacob Osborne managed to stave off the Cardinals attack for six of those minutes with the extra attacker, it was Jack Kane '25 that struck early in the period to give the Cardinals their first lead of the game. Scoring his first goal of the season, Kane capitalized on a rebounded shot by Andrew Haxton '28 that deflected off the stick of Hayden Hanes '27 and fell at the feet of Geraci as both defenders crossed the blue line on the rush.

The Cardinals' lead at three was short lived when the Bears scored another game-tying goal a minute later with points awarded to Jack Barbro. While the Cardinals were unable to launch a puck behind Osborne for the remainder of the period, the game entered 3-on-3 extra minutes with a NESCAC win on the line. With Owen Sweet '25 piloting the offense, Connor Sutherland '27 powered his way down the boards for Geraci moving through the center. Geraci's sidestep was enough to catch both Jackson Holl and Osborne off their mark for Geraci's game-winning shot over Osborne's glove.

The first opening period of the game was played with little fanfare from either team. Cardinals' goaltender Patrick McDevitt '28 faced six shots and countered all with a goal denial. Opening the scoring in the second period, the Bears took their lead off the stick of Jack Gilligan. Nearing the halfway point, Danny Judge '26 quieted their hopes with the man advantage as the Bears were called cross-checking. Judge won the offsides faceoff and gave way for Ethan Davidson '26 to circle back in the neutral zone and find Sweet in the far corner. Sweet's pass back to Judge struck off Judge's stick from out center and over Osborne's right blocker.

Tying the game up at two after a goal by Aidan Lyons, Hanes made the most of some quick passing by Sutherland and Haxton as the Cardinals broke an attempted zone clear by the Bears. Hanes was parked at the right post when Sutherland's pass to Haxton arched around the crease.

Earning the win for the Cardinals in goal, McDevitt made 25 saves and helped kill two penalties in the second period. Osborne finished the afternoon with 21 saves.

The Cardinals return to action on Friday, Feb. 21, when they head to Trinity for the first of back-to-back games beginning at 7 p.m.