The Lake Orion hockey squad got two goals from both Brad Berschbach and Corbin Rainey last Saturday night, en route to a come-from-behind 5-4 victory at Birmingham Unified.
The Dragons won in OAA I action for the first time since November, improving to 2-2-1 in league action and sweeping the season series against Birmingham.
John Costigan added four assists for Lake Orion, which trailed by a goal on three separate occasions in the game.
Berschbach’s second goal tied the game at four in the final seconds of the second period and Rainey’s second tally proved to be the winner just 56 seconds into the final period.
Jason Stross made 23 saves in net for the Dragons. He and Birmingham goaltender Zach Silver looked sharp early, until the floodgates opened midway through the second period.
Eight goals were scored in the period, including three by each team in a span of just over four minutes.
Shane Pettit scored Lake Orion’s first goal, and Birmingham Captain Kyle Papke scored two goals and added two assists to lead his team.
‘The first time we played them, I think they were missing four guys,? Coach Pat Cherry said of the team’s 3-0 win over Birmingham on Nov. 29.
‘We knew they were dangerous,? he added. ‘I thought they played hard and so did we.?
Cherry credited his squad’s discipline, which led to two power play goals.
‘We were happy that our guys didn’t give up,? he said. ‘We’re practicing tough right now, and we just hope it carries through to the games.?
The five goals scored by Lake Orion marked only the second time this season they’ve scored more than three goals in a game.
‘We’re fortunate to win a game where we gave up four goals, because we’ve struggled to score,? Cherry said. ‘It’s also unlikely for a team to score four goals on Stross, but he still made some big saves.?
Stross came up with 32 saves last Thursday in the team’s 2-all tie against visiting Waterford Kettering, an effort that included a big save on a break away in the final minute.
Berschbach and Costigan scored Lake Orion’s goals and Kettering got the tying tally with just over five minutes left.
Lake Orion is now 4-6-2 overall. The Dragons travel to take on Farmington Hills United on Thursday night, then visit Waterford Mott on Saturday.