Heartbreaker
���������� By Gary Braham�� 3-25-2000
Colgate's amazing hockey season was extended by a trip to the NCAA tournament in Albany.� Colgate drew the 4th seed in the East, and would have to face Michigan first, the winner playing last years champs, Maine.
��
�� Colgate had an amazing fan turnout.� I would say more students then show up at Starr rink for an average game.� Michigan also sent a respectable group of fans to see the game.� The overall theme of the evening was respect.� Colgate had the slightly higher seed, but Michigan did better in the regular season.� Most people predicted a blowout for Michigan, on sheer name alone.�
�� Colgate fans struck first, some obviously drunk students started screaming, as the Swinging Gates were invited onto the ice to sing the national anthem.� That did not sit well with a lot of the hockey fans in the building.� Thier actions would prompt a letter in the Maroon-News
from Coach Vaughan and Mark Murphy.
��� The game started out in Michigans favor.� The teams were going back and forth, but Michigan was holding on to the puck just a little longer each drive and getting some better shots.� Colgate was laying on some mean hits though, these would wear Michigan out all game.
�� Michigan struck once, then twice, then a third time.�� Things did not look that good for Colgate.�� The Colgate sections got a lot quieter as things began to look bleak.� It would be senior leader, Shep Harder, that got the team and crowd going again.
�� Shep made three amazing saves in a row, each one better than the last.� It was his desire to not give up and fight that spurred the team on.� Minutes later, Colgate scored goal number 1.
�� Goal number two would follow, and the game was on!� Colgate was wearing down the opposition, but remained fresh and focused.� The action continued to build as time ran down in the third period.� Finally, with just a minute left, it did not look like Colgate would finish the comeback, thats when Colgate just refused to lose, and tapped in thier third goal in a row.
�� The reaction inside the Pepsi arena was amazing.� The entire Colgate crowd was on thier feet to cheer thier team on.� The atmospehere and momentum continued to overtime.� Colgate continued to put on the pressure, until Mike O'Mally tallied the game winner.� Or so it would appear.� The ref lost site of the puck as it crossed the goaline and blew the play dead.� Video review shows that Mike put the puck inside the post and then circled around the net, faking out everyone.� It was ruled no goal, and since the ref argued that he had whisteled the play dead, not that it never crossed the line, the play was not reviewed.
��
�� Colgate continued the pressure, but minutes later Michigan got in a good deflection that beat Shep Harder up high.� Silence on the Colgate side...then a cheer began..."Here we go Colgate here we go"� The game was over, but Colgate earned perhaps more respect than if they had won, then lost to Maine.� The fans and the team gave it everything they had, but came out the losers in overtime.� A slow start, and a quick whislte were the most obvious culprits.� Colgate wore down Michigan all game, and proved they have better endurance.�
�� The loss ended Colgate's season.� It probally was Colgate's best shot at the NCAA's for a while.� That, plus the controvertial loss, made it a very tough pill to swallow.� The momentum should raise Colgate's level though.� Hopefully fan support will increase, as well as in good recruits who want to come to Colgate.�� We also gained a lot of respect from the general college hockey community.�