DENVER, Jan. 17 (UPI) -- Ville Nieminen scored on a breakaway with two seconds left in overtime Thursday night, giving the Colorado Avalanche a 3-2 triumph over the Phoenix Coyotes.
Moments after the Colorado net was knocked off its moorings, Nieminen sprinted down the left side to get a clearing pass from defenseman Greg de Vries. He coasted through the slot and flipped the puck over goaltender Robert Esche's right shoulder for his fifth goal.
As de Vries cleared the puck from his zone, goalie Patrick Roy fixed the dislodged net, allowing play to continue. Since the puck already had made progress out of the Colorado end, referees Mike Hasenfratz and Dan O'Halloran allowed play to continue.
The Avalanche put together a third-period rally as Alex Tanguay and rookie Kelly Fairchild scored 3:21 apart. But Daymond Langkow tallied with 3:44 to go in regulation to force overtime.
Esche made 31 saves and Ladislav Nagy had the other goal for Phoenix, which is 0-3-1-1 in its last five games.
