In one of the most ludicrous and amazing comebacks I have ever
seen, Colgate defeated Brown 6-5 in overtime Friday night. With
three minutes to go, Colgate was behind 5-1 and had a penalty.
However, they managed to score at 17:04, 18:17, 19:33, and 19:47
to tie the game and then won at 2:35 of OT. I used to have a
roomate who would say, "Hey, four goals down, four minutes to go,
one goal a minute, no problem!" I just wish he was here last
Friday...
Brown 2 1 2 0 - 5
Colgate 1 0 4 1 - 6
Mark Fabbro of Brown took the puck off the opening faceoff and
took it into Colgate's zone. He took a slapshot from above the
right circle that just went right through Colgate goalie Jason
Gates, eleven seconds into the game. If it was deflected at all
it was right when he shot it, and there was definitely no screen
on Gates. It was not a good goal.
That did not, however, seem to affect Colgate in the least.
They came out and pretty much dominated play. Brown had very
little control time in Colgate's end, and Colgate was breaking out
of their zone very well. The passing was crisp and accurate, and
when it wasn't or when there was a deflected puck someone would
adjust well, pick up the puck, and continue the rush without skipping
a beat. This was by far the worst aspect of Colgate's game in
the two games I saw against Boston University and Merrimack, and
it was a terrific sign to see that they had obviously worked on it.
Anytime a puck was floating in the air, Colgate players would catch
it with their glove and set it on the ice, rather than instinctively
trying to knock it down with their stick. This must have been worked
on in practice as well.
In the zone, Colgate forechecked extremely well, and forced Brown
into many giveaways. Therefore, they were able to generate an awful
lot of shot attempts. That said, Brown did not allow them a _really_
good chance, like one where someone is left all alone at the side
of the net. Most of the shots were from the perimeter. Hard shots,
and most always screened, but from the perimeter. Brown goalie Mike
Parsons also had something to do with Colgate not scoring, making
several nice saves.
Brown did manage a couple of flurries in Colgate's end, and it
must be said that Gates did make some nice saves on a couple of
rebound shots to keep Brown from upping their lead.
Finally, at 15:51, Colgate got a puck past Parsons. It was a
slapshot from the circle that looked like it got deflected. Earl
Cronan got credit for the goal, with Ron Fogarty assisting.
At 18:31, Kelly Jones took a long shot at Gates that looked like
it was going high. Gates stood up and caught it with his shoulder,
but then it either (according to two different people who were
closer to the play than I was) bounced over his shoulder and came
down in the net, or he managed to trap it against his shoulder with
his glove and on the way down his momentum sort of threw the puck
into the net. Whatever happened, it was another pretty weak goal.
With just a few seconds left in the period, a Brown player picked
up the puck at center ice and skated just inside the Colgate blue
line before letting a slapshot go. Gates appeared to have his glove
in the way in plenty of time, but obviously not very stiffly, as
the puck went right through the webbing. Luckily, it was deflected
just enough to miss the net. Needless to say, this scared everyone
in the stands, and obviously Colgate coach Don Vaughan too, as
Shawn Murray played the rest of the game in goal for the Red Raiders.
So the first period ended 2-1 Brown. Shots were 14-9 Colgate,
and it wasn't even that close.
Colgate picked up right where they left off in the second,
dominating play even more convicingly. However, it was also the
same story in that they still could not get one past Parsons.
Partway through the period, Colgate had an apparent goal disallowed.
I didn't see it, but I heard a metallic sound that was definitely
not the outside of the post. A couple of people who were closer
to the play said the puck was quite definitely in, and the entire
section of stands behind the net jumped to their feet at the time.
But the goal judge and refs didn't see it go in, so no goal. Late
in the period, Colgate had a quick breakdown and left Kelly Jones
all alone in front. Jones took a pass from Mike Traggio and quickly
shoveled the puck past Murray for a 3-1 lead. Ugh. All that work,
and down 3-1.
That's the way the period ended. Shots were 15-4 Colgate. Still,
you had to figure Colgate could crack Parsons at some point, the way
they were playing.
Colgate initially came out well in the third, but then they seemed
to get tired. The lost the step they had on Brown in the first two
periods, and this led to a much more even game. Maybe Brown stepped
up its play; I don't know. Brown still was not getting many chances,
but now Colgate wasn't either. At 4:18, Scott Steeves of Colgate
got called for a double minor while Patrick Thompson of Brown only got
a single minor, setting up a power play opportunity for Brown. The
penaly-killing for both teams had been doing a pretty good job up to
that point, giving up some shots but not goals. This time, however,
Brown worked the puck well down low, and Chris Kaban stuffed the puck
past Murray at 4:57 for a 4-1 lead. Now it was beginning to look a
bit bleak for Colgate.
Colgate was given a golden chance to get back in the game with
about eight minutes left when they were given a 1:14 two-man
advantage. I figured we had to score here for even a hope, but the
Red Raiders passed too much and Brown did an excellent job of killing
off both penalties. Time was running out...
Not long after the penalties ended, a bouncing puck bounded through
two Colgate defenders standing still on their own blue line, and
Brian Jardine swooped around them, picked up the puck, and went in
all alone on Murray. He didn't waste the opportunity, putting the
puck past Murray for a 5-1 Brown lead at 14:25. Ohhhhh boy. About
5 1/2 minutes to go, down four goals. Could it get worse? Yep...
Ron Fogarty took a penalty with 4:03 to go. If it wasn't over before,
this game was definitely over now. A number of fans left at this point,
but at least at my end of the ice most were stayed till the end.
At this point, the Red Raiders decided they had to do something now
if they were going to have any chance at all. They started attacking
while shorthanded, and got some good pressure. One shot went just
wide, and another slammed off the crossbar. Then, in a rugby scrum
in front of the net, the puck finally squirted through Parsons for
Colgate's second goal of the game. I didn't see how it went in; there
were a couple of people on the ice and some more standing.
Eventually the goal light just went on. Brent Wilde was credited at
the time, but in the box score I got it has it as McCaffery from
Wilde and Craig at 17:04. Well. Three goals down now, with a little
under three minutes to play. This game is still practically over...
Colgate continued the good pressure after the penalty was over,
getting a couple of good chances. Fogarty, who must have been
slightly mad at himself for taking the penalty, found Earl Cronan
in the slot, and Cronan made no mistake. He beautifully one-timed
the pass to the upper right corner of the net, Parsons' glove just
getting there too late. He was screened too.
The crowd exploded. Maybe, just maybe.... 1:43 left.... 2 goals
down... it would still take a miracle, though...
Colgate continued to get good pressure, but no goals. At 19:29,
Mark Fabbro of Brown high-sticked a Colgate player and got called
for the penalty. It was an obvious penalty and actually a good one
to take, as that Colgate player would have gotten an excellent chance
otherwise. So: 31 seconds left, 2 goals down, faceoff in the
offensive right corner. I don't think Murray was pulled for this.
Dan Gardner won the faceoff cleanly back to Fogarty at the right
point, who quickly fed it across to Bruce Gardiner at the left point.
Parsons had slid out of the net to cut down the angle for the faceoff,
but was inexplicably slow in getting back into the net. When the puck
reached Gardiner, he saw that the net was still unguarded and one-timed
a slapshot along the ice into the open cage. Parsons tried to get his
leg back, but to no avail. Four seconds had elapsed from the start of
the penalty. 5-4. 27 seconds to go... The crowd went pretty much
bonkers. The Brown players looked rather shell-shocked. Hoarseness
was setting in rapidly... Could it be?
After a timeout, play began again. The crowd hadn't calmed down
much. Murray was in net for the faceoff, but I think took off for
the bench when Colgate got control of the puck. The play entered
the Brown zone, and a Colgate player ended up with the puck in the
slot with a couple of others crowding the net. He lifted a backhand
toward the net... and... well, the only thing I remember for sure was
the puck hitting the twine behind Parsons. I'm not sure if it was
deflected at all, or a quick rebound. Earl Cronan gets the goal, hat trick.
The stands turned into total bedlam. Could this really have happened?
People were getting knocked and pushed around from every direction.
I was on the edge of the aisle, so I was only bumped off into the
aisle. The rest of the stands looked closer to a mosh pit than
anything else.
Tie game, 5-5. 14 seconds from the faceoff, 13 to go in regulation.
Absolutely, totally, and in all other ways unbelievable. I still
can't believe it; the Brown players were skating around in a daze.
Hoarsesness had finished setting in. Simply amazing.
The two-minute intermission allowed everyone to catch their breath
a bit, then on to the five-minute overtime (boy, did five minutes ever
seem like a big number).
The first couple of minutes were played evenly, neither team
managing a shot. Then Gardiner and Fogarty broke out two-on-one,
with two other Brown players in close pursuit. Gardiner skated into
the right circle and, deciding that a pass to Fogarty was out of the
question, decided to shoot. Parsons made the save, but the rebound
popped into air in front of him. At this point Fogarty came sweeping
by from the left and swung at the puck (a little less than waist high).
He batted the puck out of mid-air and into the net at 2:35 of the OT
for the win. The Colgate players poured out of the bench, and the
scene in the stands was a repeat of the tying goal. My oh my oh my...
Shots on the game were 41-18 Colgate. Shot attempts were probably
even more lopsided, as Colgate had a ton of shots go wide or blocked.
Colgate's defense did a good job of keeping Brown out of their end,
but once in had a tendency to break down and leave their goalie hung
out to dry. And that's definitely not a thing you want to do with
Colgate's goalies, who themselves did not have a terribly strong game.
Brown defensively gave up a lot, but not much of the great chance
variety. They also did a great job of finding the net when they had
the chance. Parsons played quite well considering the amount of time
the puck spent in Brown's end for the game, with the exception of not
getting back into the net on Colgate's fourth goal.
Colgate's offense had a terrific game. This was definitely the
best I have seen them play in a long, long time. If they can keep
up that level of play for the season, they could do a lot better than
anyone expected. Some consistency from the goaltending position
would also go a long way toward that goal. You also gotta respect
this team for not only not giving up, but really lighting it up when
there appeared to be no hope left.
The two games this weekend should be huge confidence builders for
Colgate, who seem to be pointed towards a good season. The 4-0 (ECAC)
start doesn't hurt.
Official (I think) box:
(I'm not including the coincidental penalties, but FYI there were
nine sets of them. Technically I didn't include any in the Harvard
writeup either, but that was because there wasn't a one. Slightly
interesting there, since Belanger was one of the refs both nights.)
First period:
Brown :11 Fabbro (unassisted)
Colgate 15:51 Cronan (Fogarty)
Brown 18:31 Jones (Martino, Traggio)
Penalties:
Colgate 12:01 Gardiner (Hooking)
Second period:
Brown 16:54 Jones (Traggio, Kaban)
Penalties:
Brown 8:01 Fabbro (Interference)
Brown 13:23 Smitko (Tripping)
Brown 19:56 Thompson (Tripping)
Third period:
Brown 4:57 Kaban (Jones, Jardine)
Brown 14:25 Jardine (Trach, Mulhern) PPG
(here we go....)
Colgate 17:04 McCaffery (Wilde, Craig) SHG
Colgate 18:17 Cronan (Fogarty, Gardner)
Colgate 19:33 Gardiner (Fogarty, Gardner) PPG
Colgate 19:47 Cronan (Fogarty, Gardiner)
Penalties:
Colgate 4:18 Steeves (Roughing)
Colgate 6:45 DuBarry (High sticking)
Brown 10:54 Bradford (Cross-checking)
Brown 11:40 Kaban (Hooking)
Colgate 16:57 Fogarty (Roughing)
Brown 19:29 Fabbro (High sticking)
OT:
Colgate 2:35 Fogarty (Gardiner, Pamenter)
Murray is down as playing five seconds less than the game time, so I
guess he did get out briefly before the tying goal.
Power play: Colgate, 1 for 6
Brown, 1 for 4
Shots:
Brown 9 4 5 0 - 18
Colgate 14 15 10 2 - 41
Referees: Pierre Belanger
Mike Andrews
Linesman: John Melanson
Carl Lindberg
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