SAN JOSE, CA - Making his first start in goal as a Fresno State Bulldog, Nate Lamberty led his team to victory beating the Santa Clara Broncos 3-2 Sunday afternoon.

Returning to his home ice, Lamberty stopped 38 shots and held on as his team scored back-to-back goals in the third period with less than three minutes left in the game to give the rookie his first win.

Santa Clara would get on the board first scoring on the power play with 2:35 left in the first period.

Continuing where he left off the previous night forward Matt Young would score his first goal of the night on a power play at 5:05 in the second. The Bulldogs did not hold the tie long as the Broncos would score again on a backhander at the 14:21 mark.

Heading into the third trailing by a goal, Fresno State continued to play hard offensively and pressure the Broncos defense. Santa Clara continued to focus and play their game not allowing a mistake in the first 17 minutes of the period.

The Bulldogs refused to give up and with little less than 3 minutes remaining, defenseman Trent Fisher would continue his scoring streak finding the back of the net to tie it up.

Less than 30 seconds later, Young would score his second goal of the night, assisted by Fisher to get the win over Santa Clara.

Even though he was nervous, Lamberty enjoyed playing in front of his family and friends, and trusted in his teammates and brother for support.

“I was really excited for my first start,” said Lamberty. “It was pretty nice having my family there and playing in San Jose. I played on that ice for the past four years, so it was cool to be back there. Playing with my brother has been great. We haven't been on the same team in a very long time and it's great that we are now.” 

For Nick Lamberty it was a like a dream come true playing on the same ice of a rink he used to frequent supporting his brother.

“I think he played excellent, he’s always such a great goalie,” said Nick Lamberty. “He plays better when he has the game on his shoulders.”

Nick Lamberty along with Cory Broad helped contribute offensively assisting on Fisher’s goal.

Even though Joe Ricupero starts most games in goal, the players believe Nate Lamberty played well and really kept them in the game.

“I think at first it was a challenge simply because we were trying to get used to his style of play, but he played a solid 60 minutes back there for us,” said Young. “I see him developing into a real big asset for this team.”

Fisher agreed saying Lamberty provided solid backup for the defense.

“Nate’s a great goalie and he had a good game,” said Fisher. “The D broke down a few times and he kept us in it, but other than a few mistakes the D was solid.”

Despite trailing by a goal for the first two periods, the Bulldogs refused to give up and instead focused more on how they wanted to play and stuck to their game plan and it paid off on Fisher’s goal.

“I was super excited to score and tie the game we needed to get the momentum going our way,” said Fisher.

Lamberty agreed stating, “Fisher's goal definitely boosted the morale and got us more focused to get the game winner.”

Taking his cue from Fisher, Young stepped up to net the game winner completing the sweep of Santa Clara.

“It was a great feeling not only for me, but for the team,” said Young, “we all made sacrifices to pull that one out; it showed a lot of character.”

The Bulldogs face off against UC Davis in Vacaville at 8 p.m. Friday Oct. 9. Fans can listen to the game live at http://bulldogicehockey.com. Their next home game will be the weekend of Oct. 16-17 a rematch against ACHA Division II opponent Northern Arizona University.