Rogers Lifts Harvard to Tie with Colgate
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HAMILTON, N.Y. -- Sophomore Doug Rogers scored the tying goal at
11:52 but Colgate withstood the Harvard men's hockey team's late
pressure as the teams tied, 3-3, in a key ECAC Hockey matchup
Friday night at Starr Rink.
The point gained by Harvard (13-11-4, 11-7-3 ECAC Hockey), combined
with wins by Cornell and Union, created a three-way tie for third
place in the league standings and set up a showdown Saturday night
for a first-round playoff bye. Rivals Harvard and Cornell face off
in Ithaca, N.Y., with the winner earning a bye. Harvard can also
clinch a bye with a tie or a Union loss to Brown.
Senior Paul Dufault and sophomore Alex Biega also had goals for the
Crimson. Freshman Michael Biega had a pair of assists, and
sophomore Kyle Richter made 25 saves. Harvard was 1 for 3 on the
power play and 4 for 4 on the penalty kill.
Mark Dekanich made 12 of his 26 saves for Colgate (14-13-6, 8-8-5)
in the third period and overtime.
The Raiders controlled play for much of the opening period, thanks
in large part to three Harvard penalties. Soon after the Crimson
survived the third Colgate power play, Ethan Cox stole the puck
just inside the Harvard zone and scored on a high shot from the
right side for a 1-0 lead at the 14:15 mark.
Harvard had two good chances to tie as the period wound down. Dave
Watters had the first after Jack Christian broke out the puck to
Nick Coskren, and the junior passed to his senior linemate at the
offensive blue line. Dekanich stopped the shot by Watters from the
right and covered up with 3:22 left in the frame. About two minutes
later, Alex Biega took a pass from brother Michael on the left but
had his wrist shot saved by Dekanich. The Raiders had an 8-6 edge
in first-period shots.
The Crimson turned things around early in the second period.
Dufault knotted the score at 1-1 with his sixth goal at the 1:36
mark. Dufault took a pass from junior Brian McCafferty in front of
his own net and passed ahead to Michael Biega. Dufault took a
return pass from Biega at the Colgate blue line, skated in on the
right side and shot through the legs of Dekanich.
Harvard gained its first lead of the night at 7:13. Freshman
Pier-Olivier Michaud won an offensive draw off the right boards to
Alex Biega at the point. The sophomore blasted a slap shot through
traffic and over Dekanich's glove for a 2-1 advantage.
After some tough saves by Richter in the middle of the frame, the
Raiders tied the score five minutes later. David McIntyre had the
goal, trickling a shot past the right pad of Richter from a crowd
in front of the net. Aside from the three goals, a highlight of the
period was a huge hit by Crimson senior David MacDonald on Cox at
center ice. Each team had 10 shots in the frame.
Colgate regained the lead, 3-2, at 4:22 of the third period. Dustin
Gillanders broke up a Harvard pass on the right side of the Crimson
zone and sent the puck to Mike Werner in the slot. Werner's low
shot found the net before Richter could make it across for the
save.
The Crimson tied things up on the power play. Colgate took
back-to-back penalties, setting up a Harvard two-man advantage. The
Raiders killed the 5-on-3, but Rogers tied the score with a 5-on-4.
Michael Biega took a pass from Mike Taylor and put a shot on net.
Rogers collected the puck in front of Dekanich as he skated in
front of the crease and put in his 11th goal.
Dekanich and the Raiders did not cave to Harvard's pressure for the
rest of regulation and held a 4-2 edge in overtime shots.
