Dekanich Backstops Colgate to Shutout of Rensselaer

Box Score

TROY, N.Y. -- Colgate senior goaltender Mark Dekanich (North Vancouver, B.C.) made 28 saves to earn his second shutout of the season, and the seventh of his career, as the Raider men's hockey team defeated Rensselaer, 4-0, on Saturday, Jan. 12, at Houston Field House. With the win, Colgate improves to 8-9-3 overall and 2-4-2 in ECAC Hockey play, while RPI drops to 8-12-3 overall and 3-4-2 in the league.

Dekanich's steady play kept the teams in a 0-0 tie through the first period of play, in spite of Rensselaer outshooting the Raiders 12-3. The Engineers attempted 11 shots before senior Tyler Burton (Langley, B.C.) made RPI junior goalie Mathias Lange make a save 15:58 into the game. With the shutout, Dekanich takes over sole possession of second place on Colgate's career list. He needs just one more shutout to tie former teammate Steve Silverthorn for the school record.

The second period was a different story, as Colgate earned a 9-7 edge in shots and, more importantly, a 2-0 lead on the scoreboard. The Raiders' first goal came during an RPI power play early in the session, when CU raced toward the Engineer goal on a 2-on-1. Sophomore Jason Williams (Plattsburgh, N.Y.) skated into the zone with the puck on the right side, and as he neared the hash marks, he crossed it to junior Mark Anderson (Hastings, Neb.), who scored backdoor for the second shorthanded goal of his career.

At the midpoint of the period, Colgate struck again on another odd-man rush. This time, junior Peter Bogdanich (Burnaby, B.C.) carried the puck in on the left, and he crossed it to senior Dustin Gillanders (Kyle, Sask.), who was racing toward the net. Gillanders' shot rang off the inside of the near corner and dropped behind Lange for his first goal of the year. The Raiders are unbeaten (14-0-1) during Gillanders' career when he gets a point.

Anderson scored again 7:09 into the third period with a shot from the right point. Sophomore David McIntyre (Pefferlaw, Ont.), in his first game back from injury, and freshman Brian Day (Danvers, Mass.) assisted on the play. It marked the first two-goal game of Anderson's career.

Colgate capped the game's scoring at the 14:13 mark with a goal off a lucky bounce. After having a shot stopped by Lange, sophomore Ethan Cox (Richmond, B.C.) took the puck behind the net and threw it in front from behind the goal line. However, the puck bounced off of a defenseman near the crease and into the net, giving Cox his fourth goal of the year.

Senior captain Jesse Winchester (Long Sault, Ont.), who entered the game with 99 career points, was stopped on a shorthanded breakaway attempt 6:30 into the second period, just 19 seconds before the Raiders scored their first goal. With his next point, he will join Burton as the 47^th member of Colgate's century club.

Lange recorded 23 saves for the Engineers as his team edged Colgate 28-27 on shots. RPI earned the advantage on faceoffs, 37-30, and each team failed to capitalize on six power-play chances.

Colgate returns home to host No. 11 Clarkson and St. Lawrence, Jan. 18-19, at Starr Rink. Both games begin at 7:00 p.m. Friday's contest against the Golden Knights will be televised live on Time Warner Sports in Central New York, and on Sports New York on DirecTV.