Colgate junior Tom Riley scored the game-winning goal with 1:55 left in the third period to lead the Raiders to a 2-1 win in the first game of the Citizen’s Bank Governor’s Cup.
Colgate and St. Lawrence, who last met in the ECACHL quarterfinals, came out fighting in the first period. The bad blood was still there, with constant pushes and hard hits from each side.
St. Lawrence dominated the beginning of the stanza, out-shooting the Raiders, and keeping Colgate senior goalkeeper Mark Dekanich on his feet, and a few times, on his back.
The Saints had a great scoring opportunity halfway through the first, when Dekanich attempted to clear the puck behind the net, and got tripped up by a loose St. Lawrence player. Dekanich was sprawled on his back and the net was wide-open, but the Saints were unable to capitalize on the million-dollar chance.
Colgate controlled the puck in the last five minutes of the first period, and peppered the net with several shots, but was unable to get one past senior goalie Justin Pesony.
The second period was a different story.
Just 1:18 into the stanza, Colgate captain Jesse Winchester and St. Lawrence junior Kevin DeVergilio got into a scuffle, drawing coincidental penalties for roughing. The game was civil for the next 11 minutes, until St. Lawrence’s Jordan Hack picked up the puck in the Colgate zone. He skated up to the right side of the net and shot over Dekanich’s left shoulder. Dekanich didn’t see the puck until it was too late, and St. Lawrence took the 1-0 lead.
Just 12 seconds later, a fight broke out between Colgate’s Dustin Gillanders and St. Lawrence’s Aaron Bogosian. The officials let the two get some of their aggressions out before they called coincidental penalties for unsportsmanlike conduct. The period ended with a just a few shots from either side, but no major developments.
Colgate was hungry going into the third. The Raiders went into the St. Lawrence zone and refused to budge. Colgate’s Ben Camper got control of the puck in the slot and shot into the chest of Pesony. Pesony couldn’t control it and let the rebound go. Camper picked up the rebound, looked for an open teammate, and finally decided to send it to Brian Day. Day received it in the right circle and snapped a shot into the top right of the net, leaving Pesony’s head spinning.
The two teams played back and forth hockey until the final 1:55 of the period when Colgate’s Tyler Burton got control of the puck high in the St. Lawrence zone and raced down the slot to shoot from the right side. Pesony pounced on the puck, but it slipped through his legs and ended up in the left side of the crease.
Time seemed to stand still as Riley raced through the St. Lawrence zone and slid superman-style towards the net. His momentum pushed the puck through the crease and into the net, triggering an eruption on the Colgate bench and putting Colgate ahead for the first time in the game.
The Raiders were able to hold on, and the 2-1 score stood when the final whistle blew. Both goaltenders were steady through the game, with Dekanich making 27 saves to Pesony’s 25.
The Saints will play at 4:00 p.m. tomorrow in the consolation game of the Governor’s Cup. The Raiders will play for the championship at 7:00 p.m. Their opponents will be decided by the results of the Union/RPI match up.
