Colgate 6 - Dartmouth 2

Hanover, N.H. - With playoff feaver boiling over at Thompson Arena Friday night, the Colgate Red Raiders victimized the Dartmouth Big Green for three quick goals late in the second period to record an important 6-2 win.

Beginning the evening just one game behind St. Lawrence for the ECAC's coveted top spot, the Red Raiders fell behind twice but battled back both times, finally icing the game when Sean Nolan, P.J. Yedon and Kevin Johns all scored late in the middle frame to hand Colgate a 5-2 lead after 40 minutes.

With the victory, combined with St. Lawrence's 2-1 win over Union, the Red Raiders (20-7-1, 13-4-1 ECAC) remained one game out of first place in the conference. Colgate has now won nine of its last 11 games.

Dartmouth, meanwhile, missed a chance to improve its lot for home-ice in the first round of the playoffs. The Big Green (8-13-4, 7-8-3) fell into a three-way tie with Clarkson and Princeton for fifth place in the league.

"I thought both teams sort of felt each other out in the first period," said Colgate head coach Don Vaughan. "And then in the second period, the game changed when we had some bounces go our way and we put away some pucks. I thought we did a real good job, I thought we played with a lot of discipline, and it's good to get out of here with a win."

The Red Radiers' last trip to the NCAA Tournament was in the 1989-90 season, when they fell 7-3 to Wisconsin in the title game. With the ECAC regular season Champion earning an automatic bid to this year's 12-team field, Colgate's next trip might be right around the corner.

"Our focus is still with us," Vaughan said. "We can't control anything but how we play, and that's what we have to focus on. If it should happen, and we should get a break, then great. But if not, our game is right here with us, and we have to play it that way.

"We have to concentrate on Colgate."

For Dartmouth, Colgate's three-goal outburst represented an unsettling case of deja vu. The Big Green lost to Princeton, 5-2, last Sunday, thanks in part to three Tiger goals in a two minute, 16 second span of the second period.

The Big Green remains in the thick of the race for home-ice, now desperately needing a win over visiting Cornell this Sunday afternoon.

"I've got to think that a .500 team is going to have home-ice in this league," head coach Bob Gaudet said. "I don't know all the ins and outs of it, but that's my sense.

"We've got to play hard and win on Sunday, and then give ourselves a chance of going into the last weekend of being right there at .500 or above. I think it's realistic for our team to think in those terms. I think that's tremendous motivation. It's going to be tough for us, but I think .500 is realistic for us. Whether we can do it or not, I don't know."

The Big Green opened a 2-1 lead after the opening 20 minutes of play.

Dartmouth forward Jamie Herrington began the scoring, forcing an endzone turnover before blasting a 15-foot slapshot past goalie Shep Harder.

The Red Raiders evened the score heartbeats after their second unsuccessful power play. With Dartmouth's fifth man storming out of the box, senior Darryl Campbell dumped a wrister into the back of net. With an assist on the play, Andy McDonald earned his ECAC-leading 40th overall point. Numbers 41 and 42 would come later.

But first, the Big Green reclaimed its one-goal lead. This time, it was senior captain Ryan Burkart lighting the lamp, as the left blueliner slid a shot that barely evaded Harder's reach and snuck inside the right post.

"I thought we had a really good first period," Gaudet said, "but it's a 60 minute game. After that, it wasn't a lack of effort, but against a team like this, things can change in a hurry. We need to take care of the puck in our own end. It wasn't that we weren't working, but we weren't working smart. And they buried their chances."

Colgate turned the tables in the middle frame, exploding for four goals.

The period began innocently enough, as Chad McDonald tied the score at two when he deflected a shot from teammate Bryan Log.

After nearly 15 minutes of scoreless play, the Red Raiders broke the game open with three goals in a span of two minutes, eight seconds. Nolan's came on a delayed interference call on Burkart, Yedon's on a turnover deep in the zone, and Johns' on a back-handed shot from the slot.

All told, Nolan had his 14th goal of the season, McDonald his 41st and 42nd points (on assists), and Colgate was well on its way to keeping the heat on St. Lawrence for the NCAA bid.

"Those goals were the result of some pretty good individual efforts," Vaughan said. "Once this team gets a couple-goal lead, it's difficult to come back on us. It was a good effort."

The teams played out the string in the third period, with Colgate's Campbell connecting once on the power play.

Overall, Harder finished the night with 29 saves for the Red Raiders. For Dartmouth, rookie Nick Boucher stopped 21 of 26 shots in two periods of work, while senior Eric Almon flagged down eight of nine in the third period.

"Colgate's the kind of team that seems to make something out of nothing," Gaudet said. "They throw a puck to the net, and somehow it sits in the net. They're obviously where they are for a reason. They take advantage of opportunities, they have an outstanding power play, and they work hard."

The Big Green will remain at home to face Cornell on Sunday, while Colgate take a week off before hosting Princeton next Friday night.

Big Green notes: Colgate's six goals were the most Dartmouth has allowed since a 6-1 loss to Boston College back on Dec. 29 . . . . After four straight games of permitting two goals or less, the Big Green has now surrendered five goals or more in two consecutive contests . . . . With Gary Hunter out with a shoulder injury, freshman Kent Gillings was back in the lineup after being a healthy scratch last weekend . . . . Dartmouth finished the night 0-for-7 on the power play, including a 5-on-3 chance midway through the third period and another in the waning seconds . . . . Colgate's Sam Sturgis, brother of former Big Green star Jon Sturgis, earned an assist on Yedon's goal . . . . Dartmouth is now 4-5-3 at home and 4-7-0 away . . . . The Big Green defeated Sunday's opponent, Cornell, 3-2 in Ithaca back on Jan. 24.