December 15, 2007 @ Tartan Arena 3:00

Tartan handed Hill-Murray its first loss of the young season, 3-2 at Tartan Arena. Ryan Abrahamson scored twice, including the game-winner into an empty net, and Chris Harwood had an outstanding game with 45 saves, needing every single one of them right down to the final second.

Casey O'Sullivan scored an early goal for Tartan, turning a 2-on-2 into a breakaway and wristing a shot into the upper right corner. Hill-Murray countered with a three way passing play, Metcalf to Prescott to Cascalenda, who tipped the puck into a mostly open net from the top of the crease.

Tartan regained the lead at 9:12 when Abrahamson received a centering pass from Cole Hystead on a 2-on-1 and squeezed a shot just between Phillippi's glove and the post.

The early goals seemed to give Tartan extra momentum and they succeeded in frustrating Hill-Murray's passing for the first half of the game. But after an effective penalty kill midway through the second period, Hill-Murray started wearing down the Tartan skaters, leaving Harwood to steal the show as the second half of the game was played almost exclusively in the Tartan zone.

Tyler Zepeda had the Pioneers' best scoring chance in the second period, getting a clean breakaway at the end of a long shift. Harwood stopped that, and also stopped Zepeda twice on the same shift in the third period, deflecting a hard slapshot with his blocker and gloving a wrist shot from between the circles.

Tartan managed few thrusts at the Pioneer net in the third period, but did get a 2-on-1 and pushed the shot inches wide. Hill-Murray came right back with a 2-on-1 of their own, but Harwood slid across to stop Paul Prescott's one-timer and also saved the rebound by Lou Metcalf. Another flurry by the Hill-Murray starting line culminated when Jonathan Stadler hit the goalpost squarely.

When the Pioneers opted for an extra attacker with just under 90 seconds to go, Tartan chipped the puck out of their zone and eventually worked it to Abrahamson for a wide open shot from the left circle to make it 3-1.

That appeared to clinch the victory, but with Hill-Murray continuing to play with six skaters, Metcalf got the puck after a faceoff and fired a low shot into the net from 10 feet.

The Pioneers managed one final flurry in the closing seconds with three players attempting to whack the puck in from just outside the crease, eventually wrapping it in with one second left, but not before the net had become dislodged, negating the would-be tying goal.

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