HANOVER, N.H. – Colgate’s senior class decided that it wanted to continue playing for at least one more night.
Facing elimination, seniors Mike Borkowski, Darcy Murphy and Tyson Spink all found the back of the net to spark the tenth-seeded Raiders to a 5-3 victory over seventh-seeded Dartmouth in game two of their ECAC Hockey Championship first round series Saturday at Thompson Arena.
With the win, Colgate evened the best-of-three series at a game apiece and forced a winner-take-all game three Sunday at 5 p.m.
Murphy broke a 3-3 tie with the game-winning goal at the 10:41 of the third period. Spink iced the contest with an empty net goal with 1:39 to play.
The game-winning goal came while the Raiders were on the power play as Murphy collected a pass from fellow senior Tylor Spink below the Dartmouth goal line and quickly raced out front, where he slid the puck around Big Green keeper James Kruger and into the back of the net for his eighth goal of the season.
Dartmouth held a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes thanks to a Connor Yau goal early in the opening frame, but Colgate exploded for three goals during the second period to take a 3-2 lead.
Willie Brooks opened the Raider salvo with 4:14 gone in the middle frame, ripping a slap shot from the top of the slot between Kruger’s legs to tie the game at 1-1.
Borkowski gave Colgate its first lead of the contest 4:35 later, finishing off an odd-man rush with 8:49 elapsed in the middle frame for his 13th goal of the campaign.
Evan Peterson capped the Raider outburst at the 13:03 mark, knocking home a goalmouth feed to make it a 3-1 contest.
Brett Patterson cut the Colgate advantage in half with a power play tally late in the second period before Alex Jasiek tied the game at 3-all just 2:25 seconds into the third, setting up Murphy’s heroics.
Charlie Finn made 40 saves between the pipes for Colgate. James Kruger turned aside 24 shots for Dartmouth.
Bottom Line
No. 10 Colgate 5, No. 7 Dartmouth 4
Won-Lost Records
– Colgate improved to 11-23-2 overall as it forced a game three Sunday night.
– Dartmouth saw their record shift to 15-15-1 on the season.
Key Raider Info
– Murphy finished with a season-high three points with his goal and two assists. The two-assist effort was the second multi-assist contest of the season and sixth of his career. He also tallied multiple points in a game for the fourth time this season and 14th time in his career.
– Thanks to his three-point effort, Murphy now has recorded eight points (4g,4a) in Colgate’s last four postseason games dating back to last season.
– Borkowski finished the contest with a goal and an assist as he earned the primary assist on Peterson’s second-period tally. The game was Borkowski’s fifth multiple-point game of the season and 18th of his career.
– Finn made 40 or more saves for the third time this season with his 40-save effort on Saturday. He improved to 2-1 this season when making 40 or more stops in a contest.
– Emilio Audi earned the primary assist on Willie Brooks second-period goal. Audi has recorded points in back-to-back contests for the first time this season.
– Derek Freeman picked up a secondary assist on Brooks second-period goal. The point was his first since Oct. 4 at Mercyhurst.
– Brett Corkey tallied assists on both third-period goals for the Raiders. It marked the first multiple-assist game for him this season and the second of his career.
Inside the Box Score
– Dartmouth held a 43-29 shot advantage for the contest. The Big Green held the edge in shots in all three periods (15-11, 15-8, 13-10).
– Colgate was 1-for-3 on the power play while Dartmouth converted on its only power play chance of the evening. The Raiders managed four shots in 4:40 of power play time while Dartmouth scored on its only shot taken with the man advantage.
– Colgate held a 37-34 edge at the faceoff dot. Tylor Spink was 16-of-22 at the dot to lead the Raiders.
– Murphy and Borkowski led the Raiders with five shots each. Three players tallied five shots each to pace Dartmouth.
From the Source
Colgate Head Coach Don Vaughan
For complete interview, click here
(on game)
“We were not good in the first 10 minutes. The game could have been over, but Charlie (Finn) found a way to keep us in it. We finally got our legs under us. We were just resilient tonight. I was really proud of the fact that we stuck with it, especially after they tied it in the third.”
Senior Darcy Murphy
(on game)
“You don’t want your season to end, especially in a sweep. I think it was a team effort. We all chipped in, especially during that big third period, to get the job done tonight.”
Up Next
– The two teams conclude their best-of-three series Sunday with game three. Puck drop is set for 5 p.m.
