Box Score
TROY, N.Y. – Sophomore Mark Dekanich (North Vancouver, BC/Coquitlan Express) stopped 35 shots and Colgate University scored two power play goals on its way to a 2-1 victory over Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in an ECACHL men’s hockey game at the Houston Field House. The game was the regular season finale for both teams.
With the victory, the 20th-ranked Raiders improve to 18-10-6 overall and 14-6-2 in the league and clinch at least a share of the ECACHL regular season title with 30 points. Colgate, which earned a bye through next week’s first round playoff series, will win the league crown outright should Dartmouth lose to or tie St. Lawrence.
The Engineers fall to 14-15-6 overall and 8-8-6 in the league. Their 22 points puts them in sixth place in the final regular season standings. RPI, which had its six-game unbeaten streak snapped (3-0-3), is the seventh seed in the league playoffs and will host tenth-seeded Quinnipiac in a best-of-three first round playoff series next Friday, Saturday and Sunday, if necessary.
Dekanich was outstanding throughout the game, but he was especially strong in the second period when he stopped 18 shots as RPI held a 19-2 advantage. He then stopped all 12 shots he saw in the third period for his 16th victory of the season (16-8-6).
Rensselaer got on the board first with a 5-on-3 power play goal by senior defenseman Brad Farynuk (Enderby, BC/Vernon Vipers) at 6:34 of the second period. Farynuk tallied his fourth goal of the season when he collected a pass from junior Oren Eizenman (Toronto, ON/Wexford Raiders) at the top of the right circle and scored on a slap shot over the shoulder of Dekanich.
The Raiders tied it at 16:29 of the second when senior Jon Smyth (Markham, ON/Ottawa Jr. Senators) connected from the bottom of the right faceoff circle off a pass from Peter Bogdanich (Burnaby, BC/Chilliwack Chiefs). Bogdanich earned the primary assist when he came around the back of the net and sent the puck across the crease to Smyth, who flipped it into the net. Marc Fulton (Vancouver, BC) also had a hand in the goal.
Colgate got the game-winner at 6:19 of the third period when Kyle Wilson’s (London, ON/Strathroy Rockets) cross-crease pass deflected off the skate of sophomore Jesse Winchester (Long Sault, ON/Cornwall Colts) and into the goal. Freshman defenseman Mark Anderson (Hastings, NE) earned the secondary assist.
Rensselaer, which got 16 saves from freshman Mathias Lange (Klagenfurt, Austria/New York Apple Core), had several chances in the third period but could not get the equalizer past Dekanich.
