HAMILTON, N.Y. (1/21/06) - Colgate junior Marc Fulton (Vancouver, B.C.) scored 58 seconds into overtime to lift the No. 17 Raiders to a 4-3 win against No. 11/10 St. Lawrence (14-9-1, 8-4-0 ECACHL) on Saturday, Jan. 21, at Starr Rink. With the victory, the Raiders maintain their hold on the top spot in the league standings with a 9-2-1 mark in league play and a 13-6-5 overall record.
Following a scramble behind the net, senior Kyle Wilson (London, Ont.) poked the puck to senior Ryan Smyth (Clarence Creek, Ont.), who found Fulton in the slot. Fulton fired a wrist shot that dribbled between the legs of St. Lawrence goalie Justin Pesony and gave Colgate the win.
The Raiders got on the board first for the first time in 12 games 6:39 into the first period. Wilson dug the puck out of the corner and dished it to Fulton. The rebound from Fulton’s shot came all the way out to freshman David Sloane (Ambler, Pa.) in the high slot, who beat Pesony top-shelf on his blocker side.
St. Lawrence tied it up on its first power-play opportunity of the game at the 8:46 mark. Kyle Rank won the faceoff back to Mike Madill, who passed it to his defensive partner Matt Generous. Generous’ slapshot from near the blue line found its way through traffic and the puck buried itself in the top right corner of the net.
The Saints took a 2-1 lead seven minutes later on the same play that got them their first goal of the game. John Zeiler won the puck to Mike Zbriger, who passed to Fensel. Fensel shot from the high slot to beat Raider goalie Mark Dekanich (North Vancouver, B.C.) high on the blocker side.
After getting outshot 17-4 in the first period, Colgate turned the tables in the second, outshooting St. Lawrence 14-5. However, Pesony was up to the task right up until the last minute of play. With the Raiders on the power play, Fulton shot the puck around the boards into the corner. Junior Mike Campaner (Thunder Bay, Ont.) picked it up and passed it across the crease to freshman Peter Bogdanich (Burnaby, B.C.). Bogdanich skated it to the right side of the goal mouth and slipped it under Pesony’s pads with 20 seconds on the clock to tie the game at 2-2, and extend his first career point streak to four games.
Colgate took its first lead of the game 1:36 into the final frame. Freshman Tom Riley (Nepean, Ont.) and sophomore Ben Camper (Rocky River, Ohio) started senior Eric Main (Atikokan, Ont.) out of the defensive end and into the neutral zone. Main zigzagged between the St. Lawrence defenders to a spot low along the right boards. From there, he threw the puck on net where it deflected off Generous and between Pesony’s legs.
The two teams battled through many minutes of exciting, defensive-oriented hockey before the Saints got a break. T.J. Trevelyan picked up a loose puck in the neutral zone and carried it down the left boards. With Colgate freshman Nick St. Pierre (St. Etienne, Que.) covering him, he passed the puck across the slot where John Zeiler, who was being tied up by Campaner, got his stick on the puck and tipped it under Dekanich’s glove.
Both goaltenders finished with 27 saves as Colgate outshot its opponent for just the ninth time this season, 31-30. The Raiders are 8-0-1 when they record more shots than the other team. Colgate held a distinct advantage on faceoffs, 48-29, paced by Wilson with 21 wins on 33 attempts.
Colgate’s sweep of its North Country rivals was its first since the 1999-00 season when the Raiders beat both Clarkson and St. Lawrence, 4-3.
The Raiders continue their four-game homestand when they host Yale on Friday, Jan. 27, at 7:00 p.m. The next night, Colgate will play Brown for the third time this season. Saturday’s game will be televised live starting at 7:00 p.m. on Time Warner Sports Ch. 26, and will be shown on a tape-delay basis on ESPNU, starting around 10:30 p.m.
