Providence dropped a 5-4 decision to UMass-Lowell in OT at Schneider Arena. They were also involved in a shootout loss at Merrimack. From what I've seen, I don't believe teams are playing for the shootout. A 5 minute OT is not a lot of time to score! I don't have last season's stats in front of me, but I'm sure there were plenty of ties. If anything, I think teams are playing harder in OT this year than in the past when it was more common to see teams playing to protect the tie. -- Ron [log in to unmask]