The Dordt Defenders earned a crucial overtime victory in pool play at the ACHA Division III National Championship, rallying past Purdue for a 3-2 win on Thursday night at USA Arena-CCIC.

Box Score 

Purdue struck first late in the opening period with a goal at the 17:19 mark and carried that 1-0 lead into the first intermission. The Boilermakers extended the advantage early in the second period with a shorthanded goal at 4:54 to go up 2-0, putting Dordt in an early hole.

The Defenders began to shift momentum late in the second period. Rylan Veenstra got Dordt on the board with 57 seconds left before intermission, finishing off a setup from Levi Loken and Mason Spejcher to cut the deficit to 2-1 heading into the third.

Dordt continued to press in the final period and found the equalizer midway through. Mason Carrels scored at the 8:27 mark off assists from Isaac Baart and Preston Waage, tying the game 2-2 and setting up a dramatic finish. Dordt controlled play throughout the period, outshooting Purdue and limiting chances to force overtime.

The extra session didn't last long. Just 39 seconds into overtime, Levi Loken buried the game-winner off a feed from Spejcher, completing the comeback and securing the 3-2 victory for the Defenders.

Dordt finished with a commanding 40-20 shots-on-goal advantage, including a strong first and third period push. Tim Nanson earned the win in goal with 18 saves, while Purdue's Benjamin Norris stopped 37 shots in the loss.

With the win, Dordt moves to 1-1 in pool play and remains in contention heading into its final pool game. Dordt will finish pool play on Friday night against the top-seed Calvin.

Team Stats
Goals: Dordt 3 / Purdue 2
Shots on Goal: Dordt 40 / Purdue 20
Power Plays: Dordt 0-3 / Purdue 0-2
Saves: Dordt 18 / Purdue 37

Dordt Goal Scorers
Rylan Veenstra (1)
Mason Carrels (1)
Levi Loken (1)