HANOVER, N.H.(AP) -- Nathan Szymanski scored on a backhander with 5:53 gone in the third period, breaking a 2-2 tie and propelling Dartmouth to a 5-2 victory over Colgate in ECAC men's hockey action Sunday.

The win gave Dartmouth (19-12-1) the best two-of-three quarterfinal series. The Big Green moves on to the semi-final round of the ECAC Championship, to be held at Pepsi Arena in Albany, N.Y. on Friday, March 21.

With the score tied, Szymanski, a sophomore, scored the second goal of his collegiate career. He connected on a crisp backhander that beat Colgate goalie Steve Silverthorn over his right shoulder.

Seven minutes later, Dartmouth's P.J. Martin potted an insurance goal for a 4-2 lead before Lee Stempniak scored an empty-netter with 2:09 to play.

In the opening period, the teams combined for three goals in a span of 48 seconds.

The Raiders took a 1-0 lead with just 1:20 gone in the game when Brad D'Arco scored, and 39 seconds later, Dartmouth tied it on a Darcy Marr goal.

It took Colgate just nine seconds to regain the advantage, 2-1, after Darryl McKinnon scored at 2:08.

The only goal of the second period came at the 5:33 mark when Dartmouth's Mike Ouellette knotted the score at 2-2.

For Colgate (17-19-4), Silverthorn made 37 saves, while Dartmouth's Nick Boucher stopped 26.