BURLINGTON, Vt. – A six-goal flurry between the second and third quarters helped Colgate post a 10-8 win over Vermont here Saturday.
 
The Raiders trailed 4-1 after the first period before Ryan Walsh found the net for his second goal of the season. That seemed to spark the visitors, who scored four unanswered goals in the quarter for a 5-4 halftime advantage.
 
Colgate continued its momentum to open the third quarter as Chase Wittich scored his second of the day and Anthony Abbadessa made it a hat trick for a 7-4 margin. Vermont drew within one goal but then Colgate's Matt Clarkson and Tyler Rigo tallied and the Raiders led 9-7 entering the fourth.
 
Cameron Williams scored near the midway point of the final period and Colgate (2-0) held on for its second straight win to open the season.
 
Abbadessa added two assists to his first collegiate hat trick for a five-point game. Clarkson did him one better with a goal and five assists, while Williams and Wittich scored two goals apiece.
 
James Barlow scored four goals to lead the Catamounts (0-2).
 
Colgate opens its home and Patriot League schedule next Saturday in a noon start against Lafayette.
 
Bottom Line
• Colgate 10, Vermont 8
 
Won-Lost Records
• Colgate improves to 2-0.
• Vermont is now 0-2.
 
Facts & Figures
• Colgate forced 10 Vermont turnovers in the middle two periods when the Raiders were turning a 4-1 deficit into a 9-7 lead.
• Anthony Abbadessa registered his first career hat trick in just his second collegiate game with goals in the first three quarters.
• Cameron Williams and Chase Wittich each scored twice, and Matt Clarkson, Ryan Walsh and Tyler Rigo added single markers.
• Clarkson had five assists to finish with a career-high six points.
• Abbadessa added two assists and Walsh one.
• Brandon Burke made seven saves to post his second win of the season in goal.
• Ground ball leaders were Walsh, Kevin Adams and Collin Orr with three apiece. Orr also won four of 10 tries at the faceoff-X.
 
Turning Point
• Vermont jumped to a 4-1 lead after the opening 15 minutes.
• But Walsh began Colgate's second-quarter comeback by scoring an unassisted goal with 11:55 remaining before halftime.
• Next it was Abbadessa scoring his second of the game, this time on a man-up opportunity with an assist from Clarkson.
• Clarkson found Williams for the tying goal with 2:27 left before half, and it was 4-4.
• Wittich capped the brilliant second period with a goal at the 1:21 mark off an assist by Abbadessa.
• Suddenly, the Raiders led 5-4 heading into intermission.
• They tacked on goals by Wittich and Abbadessa to start the third quarter and never trailed.
 
More Key Info
• Shots favored Vermont, 37-33, as did ground balls by a 29-24 count.
• Colgate scored five extra-man goals to Vermont's one.
• The Raiders were credited with a 14-of-15 scorecard on clears, while Vermont finished 13-of-15.
• Vermont won the faceoff duel 15-6, but the Catamounts committed 14 turnovers to Colgate's 11.
• After Vermont pulled within 7-6 still early in the third quarter, Colgate changed the momentum once again with a stretch of three of the next four goals.
• Clarkson scored from Abbadessa on a man-up opportunity with 7:13 left in the third, and then Rigo found the net from Walsh for his first goal of the season with 1:24 left in the period.
• Williams capped the Raider scoring with Colgate's 10th goal at the 7:45 mark. Clarkson's fifth assist finished off his six-point performance.
 
From the Source
• Colgate head coach Mike Murphy: (On the turnaround) "The importance of our riding game really got us started. We did a really good job extending possessions by turning them over with our riding game. I don't know that we were playing great in our 6-on-6 offense, but when the game was unsettled we played really well.
"I believe we scored three ride-back goals when they were in the process of trying to clear the ball, so I was very pleased with how we scrapped and created some unsettled situations."
(On Abbadessa and Clarkson) "When you create a game like that where there are a lot of loose balls, Anthony's really good off the ground. We scored five extra-man goals, and Matt and Anthony had a nice thing going on a couple of the extra-man plays where Matt found him on the corner.
"To see our young guys continue to get better is important to us as we move into the first little bit of our Patriot League schedule.
(On special teams) "Our special teams did a good job, especially in the riding game and extra-man. When we created loose balls, more often than not we were able to get it in the hands of our offense.
"We've been working really hard to create loose-ball and unsettled situations. The field conditions were not ideal, but our guys were mentally tough as they dealt with the inclement weather and slick field.
(On the win) "Any time you go on the road, play a quality opponent and get a win is always good for your program. We did a great job creating offense with our riding game."
 
Gate Grab Bag
• Attendance at Virtue Field was 95.
 
Up Next
• Colgate hosts Lafayette in its home and Patriot League opener.
• Start time from Crown Field at Andy Kerr Stadium is noon.
• The Leopards (1-0) opened their season Saturday with a 10-5 win at Wagner.