HAMILTON – Griffin Brown once again led Colgate in goals with a season-high five, and Nicky Petkevich added his second straight hat trick. But it wasn't enough in a 13-12 loss to Boston University here Saturday.
 
The Raiders led 5-4 after one quarter and 8-6 at halftime. It was 10-6 Colgate entering the final stages of the third quarter when Boston University grabbed momentum and closed on a 7-2 run over the final 16½ minutes.
 
A goal by Jake Cates just as time expired narrowed the Colgate lead to 10-8 entering the fourth quarter. The Terriers made it a one-goal game before Nicky Petkevich completed his hat trick with an unassisted tally at 9:18, pushing the Raiders in front 11-9.
 
Boston tied the game on consecutive goals by Timmy Ley and Jared Nugent, only to have Raiders sophomore Brian Minicus score from Petkevich's assist for a 12-11 Raiders edge with 6:10 showing.
 
Terriers freshman Thomas Niedringhaus netted his third of the game and seventh of the season to tie it 12-12 with 4:31 remaining. And Boston transitioned a Colgate turnover into Vince D'Alto's second goal of the day with 1:53 remaining.


 
The Terriers won the ensuing faceoff and worked precious seconds off the clock, but Colgate was able to regain possession and advance into their offensive zone before calling timeout with 16 seconds remaining. BU's defense then prevented a Colgate shot attempt as the clock expired.
 
Brown registered a hat trick and one additional assist in the opening quarter, and then he added back-to-back tallies in the second to put the Raiders in front 8-5.
 
Petkevich scored his goals in the first, third and fourth quarters. His opening tally made it 2-1 Colgate and was a deflection off his body from Mike Hawkins' original shot attempt. Brown set up Petkevich to begin the third quarter and then the senior scored unassisted in the fourth.
 
The Raiders lost their fifth in a row to begin the season, while Boston University improved to 3-3. This was the Patriot League opener for both teams.
 
Bottom Line
• Boston University 13, Colgate 12


 
From the Source
• Colgate head coach Matt Karweck: (On the game) "Here's the good news: We are continuing to learn. Our defense did a pretty good job in the first half. We pushed transition really well, which we have been working on, our defense played better – we had our opportunities. I was excited about the way we were playing offensive and defensively, our goalie was making some saves and we were winning some faceoffs.
 
"We had things going. It just seems like a tale of two halves for this team right now. We didn't clear the ball well against their 10-man ride, which is pretty good, and we shot ourselves in the foot with turnovers.
 
"One of the most frustrating things is to give up goals at the end of shot clocks or at the end of a quarter. We didn't do a good job of managing our end-of-the quarter situations. We got a penalty at the end of a quarter, we allowed a goal at the end of another quarter – those things make the difference in a one-goal game.
 
"We are going to get back to work Monday and get ready for Navy so that we can starting impacting this Patriot League race. The guys are working hard and I am pleased with that effort."
 
Stats of the Game
• Brown's five goals boosted him into the all-time Colgate top 10 with 94 for his career. Next on the list is No. 9 Jim Perry (1984-87) with 98.
• The two assists for Brown were a season high and matched his career best.
• Malcolm Feeney won 15-of-27 faceoffs and picked up a season-high 11 ground balls.
• Minicus posted his first multigoal game of the season to go with an assist.
• Boston University produced eight different goal scorers, led by Niedringhaus with three.
• The teams combined for 42 turnovers, with 28 of those coming in the middle two quarters.


 
Gate Grab Bag
• Attendance inside Crown Field at Andy Kerr Stadium was 215.
 
Up Next
• Colgate is back on the road to take on Navy next Saturday.
• The Midshipmen are 2-3 after Saturday's 14-6 loss at Lehigh in their conference opener.
• Faceoff is noon from Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, with the Patriot League Network carrying all the action.