Box Score

HAMILTON, NY -- Colgate senior Tyler Burton (Langley, B.C.) scored two goals and assisted on another to lead his Raiders (15-15-6) to a 3-2 win over St. Lawrence (13-19-4) in the second game of their best-of-three ECAC Hockey first-round playoff series on Saturday, Mar. 8, at Starr Rink. The Colgate victory forces a decisive third game, which will be played on Sunday at 7:00 p.m.

The Raiders took their first lead of the weekend 13:50 into the first period. Burton took the puck deep in the right corner, then passed it up to freshman Kevin McNamara (Chestnut Hill, Mass.) on the right point. McNamara sent a low wrist shot toward the net. Senior Ben Camper (Rocky River, Ohio), who was standing in front of the crease, deflected it into the cage past SLU senior goaltender John Hallas, low, stick-side.

The Saints evened the score just 48 seconds into the middle period. Junior Matt Generous took the puck off a Colgate turnover, and put a shot on net. Colgate senior goaltender Mark Dekanich (North Vancouver, B.C.) made the save, but Generous collected the rebound and took the puck behind the net. He attempted another shot from the left side, but this time sophomore Travis Vermeulen got the rebound, and he jammed it home.

The Raiders responded just 23 seconds later. Junior Peter Bogdanich (Burnaby, B.C.) had the puck low on the left side, and he found junior Jason Fredricks (Eagle River, Wis.) in the slot between the hashmarks. Fredricks shot, and Hallas made the save, but the puck trickled between his legs, leaving room for Burton to tap it over the goal line.

At the midpoint of the game, with Colgate set up on the power play, McNamara attempted a shot from the left point that went wide of the target. The puck rung around the boards to senior captain Jesse Winchester (Long Sault, Ont.) at the right hashmark, and he gave it back to McNamara at the left point. McNamara found Burton camped out to the right of the crease, and Burton scored on the back-door play, low, glove-side.

SLU made it a one-goal game with 4:29 on the clock in the second period. Freshman Aaron Bogosian got the puck to junior Jared Ross along the left boards in the neutral zone, where he was pinned by two Raiders. However, the puck came back out to Bogosian, and he used a heads-up play to send junior Casey Parenteau toward the Raider net on a breakaway. Parenteau's shot went between Dekanich's legs to give him his 11th goal of the season.

The third period featured numerous scoring opportunities for both teams, but the defenses remained strong. The Saints put Hallas on the bench with 52 seconds left in the third period in favor of the extra attacker, but they were stymied by the Raiders. Colgate sent the puck toward the empty net twice, but both attempts went wide.

Dekanich earned the win after making 31 saves, including 13 in the third period. Hallas posted 30 stops in the loss as each team put 33 shots on net. Colgate finished 1-for-2 on the power play and shut down all four St. Lawrence extra-man attempts. The Raiders dominated in the faceoff circle, 50-24.

With his three-point night, Burton became just the second Raider in the last decade to record 150 points for his career, joining current St. Louis Blues center Andy McDonald '00 in that elite club. Burton, who has 151 points in 152 career games, is tied for 18th on Colgate's all-time scoring list with David Conte '71, who is currently the executive vice president for hockey operations and director of scouting for the NHL's New Jersey Devils. Burton needs four more points to tie McDonald for 16th place in Colgate scoring history.

The final game of the series will be played on Sunday, Mar. 9, at Starr Rink, starting at 7:00 p.m. Tickets may be purchased at the gate or by calling the Colgate Ticket Office at (315) 228-7600.