MIDDLETOWN, Conn. -- In a game that featured seven-goal runs by each teams and four ejected players, Wesleyan (7-3, 5-1), ranked 13th nationally, pulled out a 13-12 victory over visiting Colby (6-4, 2-4). Wesleyan is now tied in the loss column with Middlebury, which fell today to Trinity, atop the NESCAC standings. Wesleyan, at 5-1 in conference play, and Middlebury (6-1) meet in a probable showdown for the top seed in the upcoming NESCAC tournament Sat., April 19 at Wesleyan. Before that, Wesleyan plays at Trinity Wed., April 16. Next up for Colby is a game at Bowdoin April 16.

Wesleyan moved out to an early 3-0 lead after one period of play and clung to a 3-2 margin early in the second period before an on-field altercation led to the ejection of three Wesleyan players and one for Colby. Colby also got a two-man advantage out of the situation for a full three minutes with no release.

Colby responded by rattling off four goals in a span of 1:05 after Wesleyan survived the first 1:37 of short-handed situation. Another Wesleyan penalty gave Colby an extra man-up at the tail end of the segment and the third consecutive goal by senior Drew Piekarski gave the Mules their largest lead at 7-3 with 7:27 left before halftime. Wesleyan rallied to get two back before intermission to make it a 7-5 game.

The Cardinals then finished off their own 7-0 run as senior Grayson Connors had the final two tallies, the last at 5:10 of the third period, to put Wesleyan ahead, 10-7. Senior Alex Kaufman had scored at 11:07 on a shoulder-high shot just inside the far post from the right side to give Wesleyan the lead for good.

Wesleyan carried an 11-8 edge into the final period and held its largest margin at 12-8 when junior Adam Kirk netted his second goal of the contest at 13:35. Colby sophomore Whit McCarthy polished off his four-goal game with a pair in a two-minute span to cut the gap in half at 12-10 with 8:55 to go. Junior Jason Ben-Eliyahu gave Wesleyan a little breathing room with his third goal of the game at 8:06, and it proved to be the game-winner, as senior Zach Goodnough and Piekarski added goals for the Mules with Piekarski's fourth of the contest coming at 5:43 to make it a one-goal difference.

Both he and McCarthy upped their season goal total to 20 during the game. Connors, who had three for Wesleyan, leads his squad with 24 this season.

In the closing minutes, Wesleyan possessed the ball most of the time and a penalty on Colby, assessed with 2:05 to play, gave Wesleyan the ball and the Cardinals never lost it the rest of the way. Wesleyan is now 8-2 all-time vs. Colby.

Score by Period       1  2  3  4  Tot
-------------------------------------
Colby College.......  0  7  1  4 - 12
Wesleyan University.  3  2  6  2 - 13
 
Attendance: 250
 
Colby College SCORING:
GOALS: Drew Piekarski 4; Whit McCarthy 4; Caddy Brooks 2; Todd Boertzel 1;
       Zach Goodnough 1.
ASSISTS: Dana McNally 4; Todd Boertzel 2; Caddy Brooks 2; JoseLuis Mendoza 1.
 
Wesleyan University SCORING:
GOALS: Grayson Connors 3; Jason Ben-Eliyahu 3; Adam Kirk 2; Dan Latzman 1;
       Alex Kaufman 1; Lonny Blumenthal 1; Chris Jasinski 1; Russ Follansbee 1.
ASSISTS: Jon Killeen 3; Grayson Connors 2; Dan Latzman 2; Lonny Blumenthal 1;
         Alex Kaufman 1.
 
SHOTS BY PERIOD       1  2  3  4  Tot
-------------------------------------
Colby College.......  7 16  4  9 - 36
Wesleyan University. 10  6 10  4 - 30
 
GROUND BALLS BY PRD   1  2  3  4  Tot
-------------------------------------
Colby College....... 11 17 12  9 - 49
Wesleyan University. 10  8 10  2 - 30
 
FACE-OFFS BY PRD       1     2     3     4     Total
----------------------------------------------------
Colby College.......  1-4   5-10  5-8   5-6  - 16-28
Wesleyan University.  3-4   5-10  3-8   1-6  - 12-28
 
CLEARS BY PERIOD       1     2     3     4     Total
----------------------------------------------------
Colby College.......  2-4   4-5   4-7   1-2  - 11-18
Wesleyan University.  6-8   3-7   6-9   2-3  - 17-27
 
EXTRA-MAN OPPS         1     2     3     4     Total
----------------------------------------------------
Colby College.......  0-1   6-7   1-2   0-0  -  7-10
Wesleyan University.  0-2   1-1   0-2   0-3  -  1-8
 
SAVES BY PERIOD       1  2  3  4  Tot
-------------------------------------
Colby College.......  5  1  2  1 -  9
Wesleyan University.  4  3  1  1 -  9
 
PENALTIES - Colby College 10/11:30; Wesleyan University 10/16:00.

2008-04-12