March 7, 2003

HAMILTON, NY— Ziga Petac’s wrist shot early in the second period proved the difference, as the St. Lawrence men’s hockey team defeated Colgate 2-1 in Starr Rink on Friday night in the first round of the ECAC Tournament.

With the game tied 1-1, Petac found a loose puck between the circles and roofed it past Colgate netminder Steve Silverthorn just four minutes into the middle frame for the eventual game-winner. The Saints recorded their first Friday night road victory on the season and took a 1-0 advantage in the best-of-three series with the Raiders.

 “I thought our guys played very hard tonight,” said Colgate head coach Don Vaughan. “We made a couple of mistakes and they scored on their chances, and the opportunities we had we didn’t finish on. We didn’t capitalize on our chances, and that was the difference.”

St. Lawrence (11-19-5, 7-12-3 ECAC) struck first off of a defensive breakdown by the Raiders. Defenseman Matt McDonald found himself wide open in front of Colgate’s Steve Silverthorn and waited him out for a tap-in goal just three minutes in to the opening period.

Colgate's (14-17-4, 9-10-3) Steve Silversides evened the score at 1-1 just six minutes later with a slap shot from the blue line. The game remained tied at the end of the first, despite the Raiders out-shooting the Saints 10-3.

The Saints regained the lead for good, however, and goalie Kevin Ackley held the slim edge with 37 saves on the night. Silverthorn stopped 16 in a losing effort.