Men’s Hockey Season Comes to End

The men’s hockey team finished its season the way it generally proceeded – inconsistent and unpredictable. After sweeping RPI in their first playoff series, St. Lawrence wiped out the Raiders in the second round.

In their first game against RPI on March 2, the Raiders used a balanced attack to gain a 3-1 victory. The Raiders jumped to a 1-0 lead when sophomore Tom Riley struck on the power play just 2:06 into the first period. At the 16:03 mark, Colgate extended its lead when junior Jesse Winchester netted another power play goal. RPI appeared ready to make a comeback when Oren Eizenman scored just 25 seconds into the second period, but Colgate held off RPI the rest of that period. First-year David McIntyre’s sharp shot at the 7:18 mark in the third period gave the Raiders all the insurance they needed on way to the 3-1 victory. With momentum on their side, Colgate finished off RPI the next night, beating them 4-1 this time. First-year Jason Williams started off the scoring for the Raiders, with a power play goal 4:34 into the match. After RPI tied it up later in the first period, the Raiders regained their composure to take the lead when Riley found the net 7:00 into the second period. Goals by Winchester and Riley in the third period sealed the win and the series for the Raiders. Additionally, junior goalie Mark Dekanich’s 25 saves helped him secure a spot in the Colgate record books for the most saves in a season with 993 saves, with another series to go no less.

On March 9, Colgate’s hopes for a late-season ECACHL title run crumbled as they fell to top-seeded St. Lawrence, who eliminated the Raiders with 6-1 and 5-1 blowouts. Although the series started out well for the Raiders when Williams scored a power play goal just 1:37 into the game, St. Lawrence was not rattled however, as their barrage of goals in the first two periods (three in each) was simply too much for the Raiders to overcome. Playing without their anchor Dekanich, who was unfortunately injured, the Raiders simply could not get it going in this series. In what was their final game of the season, the Raiders went down without a fight, 5-1. St. Lawrence’s three first period goals ensured that the Raiders were down for the count and their season would end in disappointment. Sophomore Jason Fredricks scored the Raiders lone goal in this match.

While the Raiders’ season ended on a sour note and they did not succeed as they expected to, they proved at times to be a dangerous and talented team. They look forward to showing the rest of the ECACHL this next season.