Box Score

ITHACA, N.Y. (2/1/08) – Colgate’s Mark Dekanich (North Vancouver, B.C.) and Cornell’s Ben Scrivens matched each other save-for-save, but it was Big Red sophomore Colin Greening’s goal 1:03 into overtime that made the difference as Cornell earned a 2-1 win on Friday, Feb. 1, at Lynah Rink. Heading into tomorrow night’s rematch, the Raiders have a 10-11-4 overall record and 4-6-3 mark in league play, while the Big Red are 10-7-3 overall and 8-4-1 in the conference.

The winning goal was the result of a Colgate turnover in the neutral zone. Greening came up with the puck and had just one Raider defender between him and the net. He skated in on the right side, and when he neared the hashmarks, he flipped a shot over Dekanich’s glove to give his team the victory.

Colgate’s game-tying goal came 8:28 into the third period, on the sixth Raider power play of the night. Colgate set up in its zone with the puck near the blue line. Freshman Wade Poplawski (Winnipeg, Man.) passed the puck to classmate Kevin McNamara (Chestnut Hill, Mass.) at the left point. McNamara held on and danced into the high slot, looking for a lane, and finally saw one he liked. McNamara ripped a shot toward the net through traffic, and it was tipped into the cage by senior assistant captain Tyler Burton (Langley, B.C.).

Mere seconds after Colgate tied it up, the Big Red dashed to the other end to try to retake the lead. But Dekanich refused to give up another, as he stymied the first shooter, ended up out of position, but flopped on his stomach to stop the Big Red from scoring on the rebound. On the ensuing shift, Dekanich made a couple more huge saves after losing his stick, and backstopped a successful Raider penalty kill to keep the game at 1-1.

Less than two minutes into the second period, Colgate earned the first of several prime scoring chances. The Raiders crashed the net, and on the second rebound, senior captain Jesse Winchester (Long Sault, Ont.) streaked down the middle and one-timed the puck toward the net. However, his shot clanged off the left post, leaving the game tied at 0-0.

Winchester’s chance was followed by back-to-back power-play chances for Colgate, as well as strong even-strength play, but the Raiders couldn’t get past Scrivens in spite of outshooting the Big Red 14-6 during the second period.

Cornell eventually broke the scoreless tie with 4:21 left in the frame. A long shot by junior Evan Barlow went wide of the net and banged off the end boards. Greening collected the rubber in the corner, and gave it to freshman Joe Devin at the inside right hash marks. Devin used a one-timer to beat Dekanich five-hole and give the Big Red a 1-0 lead.

Dekanich finished the game with 29 saves as Colgate outshot Cornell 36-31. Scrivens earned the win after making 35 stops. The Big Red claimed a 40-32 edge on faceoffs, paced by freshman Riley Nash who won all 12 of the draws he attempted.

The teams will meet at Starr Rink on Saturday, Feb. 2, in the rematch, which starts at 7:00 p.m. Although tickets to the general public are already sold out, fans can watch the action live on Time Warner Sports in Central New York, or online via Colgate’s All-Access package.