HAMILTON – Sophomore Darcy Murphy netted a hat trick as the Raiders eliminated St. Lawrence with a 4-3 win on Saturdaynight to move on to Lake Placid.
Murphy had initially assisted on the fourth Colgate goal, but it was determined that the puck went off a Saints defenseman and into the net. It was announced a goal for Joe Wilson. Murphy became the fourth Raider to score a hat trick this season.
The Raiders (19-12-5) got multi-point games from three other skaters with Wilson tallying three points on a goal and two helpers. Andrew Black and Ryan Johnston added two assists each in the win.
Charlie Finn kept the Raiders in the game multiple times as he stop two shorthanded breakaways for the Saints. Both came on tough turnovers at the offensive blueline. He made 23 stops with 10 in the second period.
St. Lawrence (15-19-4) saw Greg Carey get a great send off in his final game as a Saint with two goals with one coming on the power play. He finishes his senior season with 57 points on 18 goals and 39 assists. Matt Weninger also ended his Saints career with 20 saves. He played in 132 games for St. Lawrence with 51 career victories.
The Saints returned the favor to the Raiders from last night with a goal coming 1:40 into the game with Woody Hudson tapping in a loose puck in the crease. Brian Ward put a shot on net that Finn slowed down, but Hudson was there for the clean up at the far post and the visitors had a 1-0 lead.
Murphy answered for Colgate 48 seconds later to tie the game with his team-leading 16th of the season and first of three. He got a pass from Mike Borkowski and fired a shot from between the circles. Daniel Gentzler added the second assist.
St. Lawrence regained the lead with 4:47 left in the opening frame on a power play laser from Carey. Colgate committed its second penalty of the period and the Saints made them pay. Gavin Bayreuther slid a pass along the blueline and Carey loaded up for the shot. He connected on a snipe shot that Finn tried to stop but couldn’t as the puck went top shelf to give the Saints a 2-1 lead at the end of one.
The Raiders tied it up for the second time in the game with Murphy scoring again. The goal came on the power play as Wilson took shot through traffic from the point. The puck was blocked down to the stick of Murphy and from a difficult angle, he hit the open net to tie the game at 2-2.
Colgate blew it open in the first 10 minutes of the third period with a great tip in from Wilson and a power play goal from Murphy to give him the hat trick. Ryan Johnston fired a shot on net from the right side and Wilson tipped it home for his eight of the season to give Colgate its first lead at 3-2.
Murphy then got the hat trick. He took a shot from the point through traffic and it looked to have deflected off Wilson’s stick. However, after looking at video it was determined that the puck went off a Saint defender and into the net for the 4-2 lead.
Carey and St. Lawrence didn’t go away, however, the senior tucked a rebound between the pads of Finn to cut the lead to 4-3. The Saints earned an offensive zone faceoff with 31 seconds remaining and had the extra attacker on the ice. The Raiders were able to win the faceoff and captain Spiro Goulakos took the puck to the corner and fought off two Saint players for a good 20 seconds and St. Lawrence couldn’t get a shot on net and the Raiders took home the 4-3 win.
Colgate heads to Lake Placid this coming weekend and will face Quinnipiac in the semifinals on Friday with the time to be determined. Tickets will go on sale at the Colgate Ticket Office on Monday at 8 a.m. or by calling 315-228-7600.
Colgate Alumni Relations will be hosting a pregame reception at the Lake Placid Conference Center that is open to any alums, parents and friends of Colgate. To view all the information visit the Colgate.edu website.
