HAMILTON -- Colgate scored four goals in the final 16 minutes of Saturday's game to erase a two-goal deficit and finish a weekend sweep of the ninth-ranked Cornell men's hockey team with a 5-3 victory at Starr Rink.
The loss dropped Cornell to 11-6-4 overall, 8-3-3 in ECAC Hockey and out of first place in the conference as Union (15-6-6, 9-3-3) swept North Country foes Clarkson and St. Lawrence to move two points ahead of the Red.
Colgate, which got two goals from Division I goal-scoring leader Austin Smith, improved to 14-9-3, 8-5-1. The Raiders moved into third place in the conference, just two points behind the Red.
Cornell got on the board first with junior defenseman Braden Birch's first goal of the season. Birch whistled a shot from the center point through traffic and over the blocker of Colgate goalie Eric Mihalik (22 saves) at the 7:32 mark. But the Raiders evened the score a little more than three minutes later on Smith's first goal.
Greg Miller put the visitors ahead just before the first intermission, though, taking a headman feed from Dustin Mowrey and beating Mihalik glove side with 3:43 left in the first. Cornell extended its lead to two goals late in the second when Sean Collins scored on the power play.
But it was all Colgate in the third as Joe Wilson started the uprising at the 4:39 mark on a mini-breakaway, and Smith tied the game at 3 with his nation-leading 26th goal of the season -- and Colgate's 10th shorthanded goal of the campaign -- less than two minutes later.
Colgate then took the lead on the power play with 5:06 remaining when Bourdon finished off a pretty passing play from Wagner and Spiro Goulakos. Thomas Larkin's 200-foot empty-netter sealed the game in the final minute.
The Big Red continues its three-game stretch away from home next weekend with games at Rensselaer and Union. Friday's game with Rensselaer will be shown on the NBC Sports Network (Time Warner channel 59).
