The Misericordia University hockey team fell to Keene State, 3-2, in a tightly-contested non-conference matchup, Friday night at the Toyota SportsPlex.
 
Jack Tos scored both of MU's goals while Zach Ross finished with a whopping 11 shots on goal.  Jaron Ketterman and Abraham Laggis led the team with two blocks apiece while Corbin Scheibel went 9-14 at the faceoff dot.
 
In his final collegiate start, Anthony Shrum made 26 saves.
 
In the second period, Tos picked up a loose puck in the defensive zone and raced up the ice with a breakaway and beat the Owls' goalie with a backhander to bring MU within one goal of tying the game at 4:09.
 
Tos struck again on the power play later in the period, ripping a one-timer into an open net to tie the game at 2-2. Brendan Vettraino and Dom Della Civita assisted on the goal at 11:23.
 
Misericordia came out of the gates strong, firing four shots towards goal in the first four minutes of play.
 
The Owls began to turn the tables with their own flurry of opportunities. The game remained scoreless thanks to blocks by Ketterman, Jonathan Hutorsky and Della Civita, along with Shrum's first save of the evening.
 
Keene State found the back of the net with an even strength goal at 13:45 to take a 1-0 lead.
 
The Cougars responded by ringing the post twice in just over a minute on shots from Corbin Scheibel and Tos. Despite the scoring chances, MU was unable to level the score, as the Owls held a 1-0 advantage after 20 minutes.
 
Keene State took a penalty just 24 seconds into the middle frame, but the penalty kill came up with a shorthanded goal at 1:53 to give the Owls a 2-0 lead.
 
The visitors continued to cycle the puck through its offensive zone, but a deflected shot bounced into open space. Catching the Owls flat-footed, Tos collected the loose puck and flew up the ice, beating two defenders before making a move to his backhand and sliding the puck past the netminder's right pad. Tos' team-leading ninth goal of the season came unassisted at 4:09 and put MU on the board, still trailing 2-1.
 
Misericordia successfully killed off two power plays after the 2-1 goal and were awarded a man advantage of their own at 10:08, giving the Cougars a chance to score an equalizer.
 
After a faceoff win in the offensive zone, Misericordia worked the puck clockwise around the zone to Della Civita behind the net. The captain fed a short pass to Vettraino, who chipped a shot into the goaltender's pads. A juicy rebound found the stick of Tos, who fired a one-timer from one knee to light the lamp and tie the game at 2-2. Vettraino and Della Civita assisted on Tos' power play marker at 11:23.
 
The Owls went back to the power play at 11:52, but MU's penalty killers came up clutch as Ketterman made another block and Shrum turned aside three more saves to keep the game tied, 2-2.
 
Misericordia drew another penalty with three seconds left in the period, giving them a man advantage with a clean sheet of ice to open the final frame.
 
The defense was active to start the third, as Zach Ross and Della Civita both recorded shots on goal during the power play. 
 
The Cougars returned to the man advantage at 5:25 and continued peppering the Keene State net. Ross registered three more shots, but the score remained 2-2.
 
The Owls broke the tie at 12:01 to take a 3-2 lead with just over eight minutes left in regulation.
 
MU continued to pursue the game-tying goal and Shrum headed to the bench with 39 seconds left in the period, however a last-second bid by Ross was denied by Keene State's netminder as the Owls hung on to win, 3-2.
 
The Cougars conclude their inaugural season with a Senior Appreciation Day rematch against Keene State, tomorrow at 3:30.