Box Score

TROY, N.Y. (11/24/06) – The Colgate men’s hockey team scored two power-play goals with a two-man advantage in the first period en route to a 4-2 win against Ohio State in the first game of the 56^th annual Rensselaer/Bank of America Holiday Tournament at RPI’s Houston Field House on Friday, Nov. 24. With the victory, the Raiders improve to 5-7-2 overall, while the Buckeyes drop to 4-7-2 on the year.

The Raiders took a 1-0 lead 2:36 into the game on a 5-on-3 power-play opportunity. Sophomore Tom Riley (Ottawa, Ont.) gained control of the puck along the far boards and sent a cross-ice pass to senior Marc Fulton (Vancouver, B.C.). Fulton skated into the zone unchallenged and sent a wrister past OSU goalie Joseph Palmer from the left circle for his ninth goal of the year.

Just 1:04 later, with the teams skating 4-on-4, Colgate struck again. Junior Ben Camper (Rocky River, Ohio) and freshman Ethan Cox (Richmond, B.C.) brought the puck into the zone and tried to set up a play, but Camper lost track of the puck in front of the net. An Ohio State defender tried to clear, but whiffed on the shot and the puck trickled toward the blue line. Junior Mike Werner (Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont.) swooped in along the left boards to keep the play onside. He brought the puck in on net and beat Palmer five-hole.

The Raiders scored their fifth 5-on-3 power-play goal in the last two games at the 13:05 mark of the opening period. After receiving the puck from freshman David McIntyre (Pefferlaw, Ont.), Fulton shot on goal from the right circle. Palmer made the save, but the rebound popped out to Riley on the left side of the crease, and he swept it into the open net.

Ohio State got on the board with a 5-on-3 power-play of its own at the 6:52 mark of the second period. The Buckeyes set up in the zone, and Sean Collins took a pass from Kenny Bernard and put a shot on Raider junior goalie Mark Dekanich (North Vancouver, B.C.). Dekanich made the save, but the rebound came to Corey Elkins on the doorstep, and he backhanded it in.

Colgate took a 4-1 lead with 8:40 left in the third period with another 4-on-4 goal. Sophomore Nick St. Pierre (St. Etienne, Que.) started junior Jesse Winchester (Long Sault, Ont.) out of the defensive end, and Winchester dumped the puck in from just over the red line. Freshman Jason Williams (Plattsburgh, N.Y.) picked up the puck on the near side boards, and sent a cross-ice pass to Winchester, who flicked it into the twine from close range.

Ohio State capped the game’s scoring with a 4-on-3 power-play goal with less than 3:30 on the clock. The Buckeyes set up in the zone, and Corey Elkins cycled the puck down to Sean Collins low on the right side. As Dekanich went down, Collins shot high to beat him.

Dekanich finished the game with 28 saves, while Palmer made 13 stops as his Buckeyes outshot the Raiders 30-17 on the night. Both teams finished 2-for-11 on the power play, and Colgate earned a 42-32 advantage on faceoffs.

The win marked the Raiders’ first victory in tournament play since the 1999 Syracuse Invitational Tournament, which Colgate won with wins over Merrimack and Niagara.

Colgate will face Niagara in the championship game on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. The Purple Eagles beat host Rensselaer in the second semifinal, 5-3. The Engineers and Buckeyes will square off in the consolation match at 4:00 p.m.