Box Score

STORRS, Conn. (12/29/06) – Junior Tyler Burton (Langley, B.C.) and sophomore Nick St. Pierre (St. Etienne, Que.) both scored two goals to lead Colgate a 5-2 win against Northeastern in the first game of the Toyota UConn Hockey Classic on Friday, Dec. 29, at the Freitas Ice Forum. The Raiders (8-10-2) will face Connecticut, who defeated Holy Cross 2-1 on Friday evening, in Saturday’s title tilt.

With more than 14 minutes elapsed in the first period, Northeastern sophomore Joe Vitale skated into the zone with the puck, but was checked into the boards by Colgate freshman Jason Williams (Plattsburgh, N.Y.). The puck came loose, and NU sophomore Ryan Ginand picked it up and fired past Raider junior goaltender Mark Dekanich (North Vancouver, B.C.) to give the Huskies a 1-0 lead.

Northeastern was whistled for five penalties in the first period, and at the 16:13 mark, Colgate went on a two-man advantage. After winning the faceoff in the zone, the Raiders set up. Junior assistant captain Jesse Winchester (Long Sault, Ont.) held the puck behind the net, then passed it to classmate Tyler Burton (Langley, B.C.) in the corner. Burton found senior Marc Fulton (Vancouver, B.C.) in the slot, and Fulton one-timed a snapshot top-corner.

With less than seven seconds left in the opening session, the Raiders earned another power-play goal. After receiving the puck from sophomore Jason Fredricks (Eagle River, Wis.), Williams passed the puck to sophomore Nick St. Pierre (St. Etienne, Que.) at the top of the slot. St. Pierre shot a laser that deflected off of a Northeastern player into the bottom corner of the net.

Northeastern tied it up 2:44 into the second period. Freshmen Greg Costa and David Strathman set up senior Yale Lewis on the power play, and Lewis beat Dekanich over his shoulder.

Colgate responded less than a minute later to retake the one-goal lead. Winchester carried the puck into the zone, and dropped it off for classmate Dustin Gillanders (Kyle, Sask.), who was trailing on the play. Gillanders was knocked off the puck, but St. Pierre picked it up and ripped it into the net from the top of the right faceoff circle for his second straight goal.

Four minutes later, the Raiders were on the penalty kill for the second time in the middle session. Sophomore David Sloane (Ambler, Pa.) forced Northeastern to turn over the puck, then sprang Burton toward the other end of the ice on a shorthanded breakaway. Burton beat Brad Thiessen stick-side for his second shorthanded goal of the year.

Burton iced the game for Colgate 11:05 into the final frame. Williams picked up the puck after Northeastern turned it over to Fulton, then skated in and put a shot on goal. Thiessen made the save, but gave up a rebound. Burton swooped in, picked up the rebound, and shot over Thiessen’s glove to set the final score at 5-2.

Dekanich earned the win after making 35 saves, including stopping all 17 shots he faced in the third period, while Thiessen took the loss with 34 stops. The Raiders earned the advantage in the faceoff circle, 37-26, and finished 2-for-4 on the power play.

Colgate will play the host Huskies for the championship of the Toyota UConn Classic on Saturday, Dec. 30, at 7:30 p.m.