Box Score

ALBANY, N.Y. (3/22/08) – It was an emotional game for the eight seniors on the Colgate University men’s hockey team, as they ended their careers in a 4-2 loss to No. 20 Cornell in the third-place game of the 2008 Bank of America ECAC Hockey Championship. The Raiders finish their season with an 18-18-6 overall record, while the Big Red end the year at 19-14-3.

Three Raider seniors recorded a point in the game, and passed the torch as sophomore Sean Carty (Glen Ellyn, Ill.) scored his first collegiate goal. Seniors Tyler Burton (Langley, B.C.), Ben Camper (Rocky River, Ohio), and Mike Werner (Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont.) all posted a point in their final collegiate game.

After trading scoring chances in the early going, it was the Big Red who capitalized first, late in the opening frame. Senior Doug Krantz took a feed from junior Michael Kennedy, and used a low-angle shot from the left side to put the puck between the legs of Colgate senior goaltender Mark Dekanich (North Vancouver, B.C.), giving Cornell a 1-0 lead 13:45 into the first period.

The Raiders responded 2:19 later. Werner took a breakout pass from sophomore Joe DeBello (Oswego, Ill.), and he sent it ahead to Carty, who skated in on a 2-on-1. Carty who beat Cornell sophomore goalie Ben Scrivens five-hole.

The Big Red regained the lead on the power play near the midpoint of the second period. Cornell set up in their attacking zone and began cycling the puck. Freshman Mike Devin took it from junior Michael Kennedy at the top of the slot near the blue line, and ripped a shot toward the goal. Senior Raymond Sawada was just to the right of the crease, and he used his stick to redirect the puck over the shoulder of Dekanich, who was down in the butterfly prepared to stop the initial shot.

Just 86 seconds later, Cornell struck again. Senior Topher Scott took a break-out pass from Michael Kennedy to enter the zone on a 2-on-1 with sophomore Justin Krueger on another power play. Kennedy crossed it to Krueger on the left wing, and he sent a slapshot over Dekanich’s blocker from the left circle.

At the next whistle, which came at the 11:35 mark, Colgate head coach Don Vaughan put Dekanich on the bench in favor of his other senior netminder, Justin Kowalkoski (Young America, Minn.). Kowalkoski made two saves over the remainder of the period to keep the score 3-1 heading into the final frame.

The Big Red scored their third power-play goal of the afternoon early in the third period. Freshman Riley Nash cycled the puck up to his brother, sophomore Brendon Nash, at the top of the slot. Brendon Nash sent a low shot in on net that was deflected by sophomore Colin Greening past Kowalkoski, five-hole.

With 3:11 remaining in the game, junior Dan DiLeo replaced Scrivens in the Cornell crease, for his first collegiate appearance. Then, with 1:44 on the clock, Dekanich returned to the game, switching off with Kowalkoski while play was at the other end of the ice.

Burton had the last word in the final game of his college career. He scored from in close after receiving a pass from Camper with 1:25 on the clock. The goal was the 83^rd of Burton’s career, and gave him 155 points in 158 career games. His 155 points tie him with current St. Louis Blues center Andy McDonald for 16^th on Colgate’s all-time scoring list, and his 158 career games played is a school record.

Dekanich finished the game with 12 saves, while Kowalkoski posted eight stops. Scrivens earned the win for the Big Red after making 22 saves, while DiLeo had three. Cornell finished 3-for-6 on the power play, and shut down all six Raider extra-man chances.