BOX SCORE

HANOVER, N.H. (1/29/11) – Mike Leidl and Mark Nasca scored their first collegiate goals for the Colgate men's hockey team, but 18th-ranked Dartmouth had seven strikes to send the Raiders home with a 7-3 loss on Saturday night.

Colgate (3-21-2, 0-12-2 ECAC) got goals from Leidl, Nasca and Francois Brisebois, while captain Brian Day posted a team-high two points with a pair of assists. Bryan Bessette was given the nod in net, making 15 saves in the first 31 minutes. Alex Evin relieved the starting goaltender for the second straight night and pushed aside 11 shots.

Dartmouth (12-6-3, 8-4-2 ECAC) earned the two points thanks to seven goals from five different skaters with Doug Jones netting a pair on the night. Scott Fleming, Kyle Reeds, Joe Stejskal, Evan Stephens and Alex Goodship were the other goal scorers. Matt Lindblad tied Jones for the team-high in points with a pair of helpers. James Mello made 28 saves between the pipes to earn the win.

It didn't take long for the Big Green to take the lead as Jones scored his fourth of the season 57 seconds into the game. Bessette made the initial save on Andrew Owsiak's shot, but the Raiders were trying to catch up after an offensive zone mistake and Jones got the rebound. He beat Bessette to give Dartmouth the 1-0 lead. Owsiak and Connor Goggin were given assists.

Leidl knotted the score at one with his first collegiate goal, coming with 16 seconds left in the first. Leidl got to the high slot and put a wrister on net that went through a screen and hit the net. Day and Kurtis Bartliff were given assists on the play. Bessette kept the Raiders in the game after the first period with 12 saves, which included a couple of doorstep stops to rob the Big Green from increasing the lead after the first 20 minutes.

Dartmouth came out on fire in the first six minutes of the second period with two goals coming 1:21 apart. Goodship scored 4:37 into the second period on a nice feed from Paul Lee. Lee picked up the puck after a neutral zone turnover by the Raiders. Stephens made it 3-1 at the 14:02 mark of the middle frame. Eric Robinson had the lone assist on the goal to give the Big Green a big two-goal lead.

Stejskal made it 4-1 with a shot from the point that beat Bessette and chased the netminder to the bench. Dustin Walsh and Stephens were awarded the helpers on the goal that came with 8:17 left in the period.

Brisebois got the Raiders within two goals with a power play goal during a five-minute major to slice the lead to 4-2. Jeremy Price put a shot on net that was redirected by Brisebois for the goal and Day was credited with the second assist for his second of the night.

Fleming scored shorthanded in the third on a bad mistake by the Raiders at the blueline on the power play to push the lead back up to three at 5-2. The goal came unassisted, 2:28 into the final period. It was the fifth shorthanded goal allowed by Colgate this season.

Nasca answered for the Raiders with his first collegiate goal with 9:59 left to cut the lead to 5-3. The score came unassisted as the puck popped up in the air from and Nasca was taken down in front. As he hit the ice the puck deflected off his glove and past Mello, who was sliding across the crease.

Reeds got the lead back up to three goals at 6-3 with 2:43 left in the game with assists to Linblad. Jones made it two scores on the day with an empty net goal with 54 seconds left. The goal came shorthanded and closed out the scoring at 7-3.

Dartmouth had the advantage in shots by a 33-31 margin. The Raiders had their opportunities on the power play with eight chances, but scored only once. The Big Green was held scoreless on four power plays, but scored shorthanded twice.

NOTES: Leidl scored his first collegiate goal in his 41st career game and has two points in his last three games after just one career point in his first 38 games … Nasca scored his first collegiate goal in his 20th career game and his two career points have come this season at Dartmouth … Day increased his career assist total to 52 and became the 30th Colgate player to reach 50 goals and 50 assists after an assist last night against Harvard … it was his first multi-point game since a three-point outing at Lake Superior State in the third game of the season … Brisebois scored the first power play goal for Colgate in the last 34 opportunities and the first since Jan. 9 at Princeton … the Raiders have given up six shorthanded goals this season … the seven goals by Dartmouth was the most Colgate has given up in 2010-11.