March 9, 2003

HAMILTON, NY—The Colgate men’s hockey team’s three-goal burst in the third period led the Raiders to a 5-2 victory over St. Lawrence at Starr Rink Sunday night, sending them to the Quarterfinals of the ECAC Tournament. The Raiders travel to Hanover, N.H. to face Dartmouth in a rematch of last year’s playoff series.

“We’re excited,” said Colgate senior Brad D’Arco about the upcoming series against the Big Green. “It’s a little chance for revenge for us. They’re a good team, and it’s going to be a lot of hard work, but it should be a series a lot like this one.”

“I’m so proud of our team,” added Colgate head coach Don Vaughan. “I thought we really hung in there, we were opportunistic, and we capitalized on our chances. It’s funny, though. If they score that third goal, the game could have easily gone the other way. That’s how evenly matched we were. That third goal was huge.”

Leading by a single goal late in the third period, Colgate sophomore Adam Mitchell stole a puck from Saint Jim Lorentz and stuffed a backhand home to give Colgate a dominating two-goal lead. Just two minutes later, Jon Smyth’s empty net tally sealed the deal, as the Raiders (16-17-4, 9-10-3 ECAC) won their first playoff series in three years.

Tied after two periods at 2-2, Colgate’s game-winning goal came at 1:57 of the third period thanks to a strong effort by Ryan Smyth. The freshman drove hard to the net, drawing defenders and St. Lawrence goaltender Kevin Ackley towards him. Sophomore Dave Thomas pinched in and tapped Smyth’s perfect pass into a wide open net to give his team a 3-2 edge.

St. Lawrence (11-21-5, 7-12-3) owned the second period, generating 20 shots on goal and scoring twice on the power play. T.J. Trevelyan’s rebound goal at 8:18 and Adam Hogg’s second effort tally at 16:31 evened the score heading into the final frame.

The Raiders had opened up the series’ first two-goal lead for either side thanks to two seniors. Brad D’Arco’s shorthanded blast just beat the buzzer at the end of the first period, while P.J. Yedon scored his third goal on the weekend with a point-blank one-timer less than five minutes into the second period.