HAMILTON, N.Y. (1/7/06) - Colgate held leads of 3-1, 4-3 and 5-4, but could not stay ahead as the No. 14/12 Raiders settled for a 5-5 tie with St. Cloud State on Saturday, Jan. 7, at Starr Rink. The game marks Colgate's fifth tie of the season (10-5-5), which ties the school record (2003-04).
Senior captain Jon Smyth (Markham, Ont.) became the 44th Raider to record 100 points in his career when he scored Colgate’s second goal of the game. Freshman Tom Riley (Nepean, Ont.) netted his first career goal to get the Raiders on the board. Senior Kyle Wilson (London, Ont.) snapped a five-game scoreless streak with two goals and an assist, while junior Marc Fulton (Vancouver, B.C.) contributed a goal and an assist.
For the second straight night, St. Cloud got on the board first. Michael Olson intercepted a pass by a Colgate defenseman and guided the puck to Matt Hartman. Hartman sent a quick pass to John Swanson, who was open in front of the net, and he scored over Raider goaltender Mark Dekanich’s (North Vancouver, B.C.) blocker 6:04 into the game.
Riley evened the score at the 13:19 mark. He won the faceoff to junior Liam Huculak (Lethbridge, Alta.), who tossed the puck to senior Zac Tataryn (Ottawa, Ont.). Tataryn took a hard shot at SCSU goalie Bobby Goepfert, and Riley backhanded the rebound into the net.
Colgate took its first lead in five games 3:30 later as Smyth hit his milestone. A Husky defenseman attempted to clear the puck, but CU senior Eric Main (Atikokan, Ont.) kept it in the zone. He centered it to Smyth, who scored glove-side.
The Raiders went up 3-1 4:14 into the second period on the first of five power-play goals in the game. Wilson centered the puck to senior Ryan Smyth (Clarence Creek, Ont.), who shot on goal. As he was being taken down by a SCSU defender, Fulton reached out with his stick to sweep the rebound past Goepfert.
With just under eight minutes to play in the second period, Colgate sophomore Jesse Winchester (Long Sault, Ont.) picked up a five-minute hitting-from-behind major and was ejected from the game. The Raiders kept the Huskies at bay for nearly four full minutes before SCSU capitalized on the long power-play opportunity. Aaron Brocklehurst took a shot that deflected off Dekanich to Gary Houseman. Houseman attempted to chip the puck into the goal, but it stuck in the pad of a Colgate defender. When it came loose, Dan Kronick snuck it in behind Dekanich to make it a one-goal game.
With freshman Peter Bogdanich (Burnaby, B.C.) still in the box serving Winchester’s penalty, sophomore Tyler Burton (Langley, B.C.) was called for hitting after the whistle, forcing the Raiders to play 5-on-3. Colgate survived the two-man-down situation, but during the 5-on-4, St. Cloud got the equalizer. Billy Hengen fed the puck to Konrad Reeder, who took it behind the net. He tossed it in front to Andrew Gordon, who chipped it in for his ninth goal of the season.
Colgate regained the lead 1:30 into the final frame. Ryan Smyth passed the puck behind the net to Fulton, who crossed it to Wilson. Wilson drilled the puck into the top corner to put the Raiders up 4-3.
At the 9:09 mark of the third, St. Cloud capitalized on the power play for the third time on the night. Reeder got the puck to Hengen, who crossed it to Justin Fletcher. Fletcher tucked his shot into the top right corner of the net.
Wilson got his second go-ahead goal of the night, and his eighth power-play score of the season, with 7:02 on the clock. He took advantage of an open St. Cloud net and scored on the backhand after getting a pass from freshman Nick St. Pierre (St. Etienne, Que.).
The Huskies took the wind out of Colgate’s sails with the tying goal at the 18:11 mark. Casey Borer carried the puck from the point to the corner where he handed it off to John Swanson. Swanson passed to Matt Hartman, who found the back of the net to force overtime.
Colgate allowed more than 40 shots for the second straight game, as the Raiders were outshot 44-33. Dekanich finished with 39 saves, including five in overtime, and Goepfert came up with 28 stops. Colgate's five goals were the most he has allowed this season. The Huskies got 16 of their shots on the power play, including 11 during the second period when they had nearly seven straight minutes with a man advantage.
The Raiders resume league play at Princeton on Friday, Jan. 13, at 7:00 p.m., and continue on to New Haven, Conn., to face Quinnipiac on Saturday at Yale’s Ingalls Rink.
