Box Score

PRINCETON, N.J. (11/18/06) – Colgate junior goaltender Mark Dekanich (North Vancouver, B.C.) made a career-high 49 saves to backstop the Raiders to a 4-2 win against Princeton on Saturday, Nov. 18, at Hobey Baker Rink. The victory snapped CU’s seven-game winless skid, and improves the Raiders’ record to 4-7-2 overall and 1-4-1 in ECACHL play, while the Tigers fall to 1-6-1 overall and 1-5-0 in league play.

Junior assistant captain Tyler Burton (Langley, B.C.) led the offensive effort with three assists, which tied his career high. Sophomore Nick St. Pierre (St. Etienne, Que.) scored a goal and added an assist, while classmate Jason Fredricks (Eagle River, Wis.) registered a career-high two points, both assists.

Colgate took its first lead in four games 4:03 into the contest during a 5-on-3 power-play opportunity. The Raiders set up in the zone, and held the puck just inside the blue line. St. Pierre and Fredricks, who were playing the points, passed the puck back and forth to each other before Fredricks sent it down to Burton in the right faceoff circle. After completing the pass, Fredricks swapped spots with junior Jesse Winchester (Long Sault, Ont.), who had been camped out in front of the goal. Burton sent the puck up to Winchester at the top of the right circle, and he fired a shot that deflected into the goal past B.J. Sklapsky off a Princeton skate. It marked the third straight game in which Winchester has scored Colgate’s first goal.

Princeton responded with a power-play goal of its own 4:25 later. The Tigers started the man advantage with a faceoff to the left of Dekanich. Lee Jubinville won the puck back to Brett Westgarth at the right point, and he let loose a laser that was deflected into the net by Darroll Powe.

The Raiders found success once again with a two-man advantage with 2:31 left in the opening period. Colgate’s top power-play unit gained the zone, and Burton brought the puck low to the right of the cage. He passed it up to Fredricks at the top of the circle, and Fredricks sent it across the slot to St. Pierre on the opposite side. St. Pierre’s shot went top-shelf on Sklapsky to give Colgate a 2-1 lead heading into the first intermission.

The Raiders scored their third straight 5-on-3 power-play goal with 3:10 left in the second period. The teams battled for the puck in the left corner, and junior Dustin Gillanders (Kyle, Sask.) came away with it. He passed it up to sophomore Tom Riley (Ottawa, Ont.) in the left circle, and Riley passed it across to senior Marc Fulton (Vancouver, B.C.) on the right side. Fulton’s slapshot beat Sklapsky through traffic to give Colgate a 3-1 lead.

The first even-strength goal of the game came with 1:34 on the clock in the middle stanza, just as a Tiger penalty ended. Burton cycled the puck up to St. Pierre at the top of the right circle. St. Pierre shot in on goal, where Winchester and freshman Jason Williams (Plattsburgh, N.Y.) were waiting. Williams jammed at the puck and slipped it under Sklapsky and over the line for his second goal of the season.

The Tigers had the last word, however, as they scored with 4:35 left in the game. Seconds after a 5-on-3 power-play opportunity expired to make it 5-on-4, Jody Pederson and Brett Wilson set up Grant Goeckner-Zoeller who sent a shot through traffic and past Dekanich from the left circle.

Sklapsky finished the night with 25 stops as his team outshot Colgate 51-29. The Raiders were 3-for-9 on the power play, while the Tigers finished 2-for-13 with the man advantage. Colgate earned the edge on faceoffs, 42-38.

The Raiders will participate in the 56^th annual Rensselaer/Bank of America Holiday Tournament next weekend. The tournament is the oldest consecutive-running holiday hockey tournament in the nation. Colgate will face Ohio State in the opening game on Friday, Nov. 24, at 4:00 p.m. The next day, CU will play either Niagara or Rensselaer. The Engineers are sponsoring a food drive in conjunction with the tournament, and ask fans to bring non-perishable food items to donate to Unity House of Troy. Every fan who makes a donation will be entered into a raffle and become eligible to win a variety of prizes.