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Georgia Tech Edges Minnesota 11-9 in 13th Place Game at National Collegiate Club Championship
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Georgia Tech University's Chris Bauerlein (So., Miami, Fla.) scored four goals to earn Player of the game honors and lead the Yellow Jackets to a 11-9 victory over the University of Minnesota at the National Collegiate Club Championship at the University of Florida. Georgia Tech finishes in a tied for 13th in the final division standings, while Minnesota ties for 15th.
Leading 8-3 entering the fourth period, the Yellow Jackets had to survive a comeback bid by the Golden Gophers as Minnesota pulled to within two goals at 8-6, 9-7 and finally 10-8 with three minutes to play. Bauerlein was the hero for the Ramblin' Wreck scoring with 2:07 left on the clock to put Georgia Tech back in front by three goals at 11-8, a margin which Minnesota's Matt Kuzma (Sr., Milwaukee, Wisc.) cut into with a goal at the 1:31 mark.
However, the combination of Georgia Tech's defense and the unyielding ticking of the clock prevented Minnesota's comeback bid from coming to fruition as the Yellow Jackets held on for the two goal win.
The contest was a tight affair in the early going as the team's traded goals to a 2-2 tie witht 5:47 left in the second period.
Georgia Tech took their first lead at the 2:29 mark of the period as Steve Kuehnle (Sr., Columbus, Ohio) sailed a shot from the outside into the cage to put the Yellow Jackets ahead 3-2. Steve Larson (Fr., Pembroke Pines, Fla.) contributed two scores as he tallied a donut off a crossing pass with one second left on the shot clock at the 56 seconds mark and bombed away from the outside for a man-up score with six seconds remaining in the period for a 5-2 lead at halftime.
The margin expanded to 8-3 by the end of the third period as the Yellow Jackets stung Minnesota for three even-strength goals in the period while allowing one to carry a five-goal lead into the final seven minutes of play.
The fourth period became a nailbiter as Cyrus Jamnejad (Gr., Los Angeles, Calif.) scored on a counter attack at 6:14, Kuzma added a skip shot at the 5:30 mark and Jamnejad came back with a score off a three-on-two opportunity with 4:48 left on the game clock to dig out of the five goal hole and move to within a pair of markers.
Bauerlein halted the run with a score with 4:32 on the scoreboard, but Jamnejad completed a hat-trick in under two minutes uncorking a direct shot which sailed into the lower right back corner of the cage to make it a 9-7 game with 4:15 on the clock.
Steven Winton (Fr., San Diego, Calif.) responded for the Ramblin' Wreck with a score off an exclusion chance with three minutes to play to make it 10-7. Minnesota's Gannon Stromquist-Levoir (Sr., Minneapolis, Minn.) netted his lone score of the game at the three minute mark to once again make it a one goal game, but Bauerlein came through with his fourth goal of the game 53 seconds later to return the lead to three goals as the Yellow Jackets escaped with a win.
In goal, Michael O'Rourke (Fr., Winter Springs, Fla.) made six saves to earn the win, while Matt Dahlberg (Sr., St. Louis, Mo.) stopped six shots for the Golden Gophers.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | -- | Final | |
| University of Minnesota | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | -- | 9 |
| Georgia Institute of Technology | 1 | 4 | 3 | 3 | -- | 11 |
GT Goals: Chris Bauerlein (4); Steve Larson (3); Steven Winton (2); Steve Kuehnle; Doug Derito
Minnesota Goals: Cyrus Jamnejad (4); Matt Kuzma (2); Gannon Stromquist-Levoir; David Brajkovic; Drew Wojack
Saves: GT - Michael O'Rourke (6) ; Minnesota - Matt Dahlberg (6)
Exclusions: GT - 3 ; Minnesota - 5
Advantage Opportunities: GT - 4-for-5 ; Minnesota - 2-for-3
Sprints: GT - 1-for-4 ; Minnesota - 3-for-4
