Box Score

HAMILTON, N.Y. (10/13/07) – Colgate freshman Brian Day (Danvers, Mass.) scored his third goal of the weekend 13:27 into the third period to lift the Raider hockey team to a 6-5 win against RIT on Saturday, Oct. 13, at Starr Rink.

Twelve different Raiders recorded at least one point, and five players had multiple-point games. Sophomore David McIntyre (Pefferlaw, Ont.) led the way with three points on a goal and two assists, and Day finished with two goals.

Day’s game-winning goal came after classmate Wade Poplawski (Winnipeg, Man.) sent a cross-ice pass to junior Mark Anderson (Hastings, Neb.) at the right point. Anderson shot on goal, and Day tipped the puck past RIT goalie Louis Menard to give Colgate the 6-5 lead. Menard vacated his net for the final 1:32, and Colgate had to withstand a late offensive flurry by the Tigers. However, the Raider defense was firm and senior goaltender Mark Dekanich (North Vancouver, B.C.) made four late saves in quick succession to preserve the win.

Colgate scored the first three goals of the game, but RIT found the back of the net twice during the final four minutes of the first period to make it a one-goal game, 3-2, at the first intermission. The Tigers turned the tables in the second period, outscoring the Raiders 2-1 to send the game into the final session knotted at 4-4. RIT got the first goal of the third to take its only lead of the game, but Colgate responded with back-to-back scores to earn the win.

Raider senior captain Jesse Winchester (Long Sault, Ont.) got things rolling with a goal 2:27 into the game. Freshman Kevin McNamara (Chestnut Hill, Mass.) sent a low shot in from the point, and the puck rebounded into traffic. Senior Tyler Burton (Langley, B.C.) was quick to pick it up and put it on net, but Menard came up with the stop again. The third time was the charm as Winchester buried the second rebound to put Colgate up 1-0. The assist was McNamara's first collegiate point.

Sophomore Jason Williams (Plattsburgh, N.Y.) made it 2-0 with his first goal of the season at the 12:12 mark. Freshman Francois Brisebois (Montreal, Que.) gained the zone and sent a backhand saucer pass to McIntyre, who found Williams on the left side. Williams one-timed the puck into the back of the net before Menard had a chance to react.

Just over three minutes later, Winchester sent a head-man pass to sophomore Ethan Cox (Richmond, B.C.), who skated down the left side and attempted a low shot. The rebound came out to junior Jason Fredricks (Eagle River, Wis.), who was skating down the middle of the zone, and he hammered the puck into the bottom right corner.

RIT's potent power play capitalized on its third extra-man opportunity of the night at the 16:01 mark of the first period to get on the board. With traffic in front of the Raider net, Simon Lambert let off a shot that was stopped by Dekanich. However, Sean Murphy picked up the rebound, and his shot trickled in from the side of the net.

With just 33 seconds left in the opening period, RIT's Al Mazur gained the zone and passed the puck to Lambert along the right boards from the blue line. Lambert crossed the puck to Matt Smith, who took a shot, picked up his own rebound, and buried his second attempt.

Colgate re-established a two-goal lead 11:15 into the second period. Senior Matt Torti (Oxford, Mass.) sent the puck ahead to McIntyre, who pulled his defender toward him, then dropped a pass to Day in the high slot. With a quick release, Day beat Menard five-hole.

The Tigers used their only power-play opportunity of the second period to get their third goal of the night. From the half boards on the right side, Dan Ringwald sent the puck up to Lambert on the blue line. Lambert found Smith camped out next to the net, and Smith scored back-door.

Just 1:27 later, the Tigers tied things up. Tyler Mazzei shot in from the blue line to start a scramble in front of the Colgate cage. Dekanich stopped a shot by Justin Hofstetter before the puck squirted across the crease to Jesse Newman on the right side, where he popped it in net.

RIT took its first lead of the night 2:40 into the third period. Murphy sent the puck ahead to Matt Crowell, who skated it into the zone, drove wide, and scored with a high shot on the short side.

McIntyre netted the tying goal at the 7:47 mark to set up Day's heroics. Brisebois got the puck to Williams, who chipped it off the wall to McIntyre. McIntyre beat his defenseman to create a 2-on-1 chance. Menard stopped McIntyre's first shot, but the Raider sniper picked up his own rebound and found twine to tie the score at 5-5.

Dekanich made 37 saves in the win, including stopping 16 of the 17 shots he faced in the third period. Menard finished with 28 saves as RIT outshot Colgate 42-34. The Tigers, who owned the second-best power play in the nation last season, finished 2-for-5 on the power play, while Colgate was 2-for-6 with the man advantage.

For the second night in a row, the Raiders dominated in the faceoff circle, 55-32. Once again, Colgate was led by Burton, who won 22 of his 33 draws.

The Raiders travel to East Lansing, Mich., next weekend to take on defending national champion Michigan State in a pair of games. On Friday, Oct. 19, Colgate will be the guest when the Spartans raise their championship banner. Both Friday’s and Saturday’s games begin at 7:00 p.m.