HANOVER, N.H. - Junior forward Paul Carey scored twice, including the game's decisive goal in the third period, and five players scored one goal each to lift No. 4 Boston College to a 6-5 non-league win over Colgate in the opening game of the 2010 Ledyard National Bank Classic at Dartmouth College's Thompson Arena.
BC advances to the championship game scheduled for Friday, Dec. 31 at 7 p.m. It will play the winner of Thursday's second opening-round game between the host Big Green and Mercyhurst.
The teams were tied at four goals apiece after two periods. Freshman forward Bill Arnold snapped the tie with an unassisted shorthanded tally at 7:39 of the third period before Carey scored his second goal of the night - the gamewinner - at 14:25.
Colgate's Corbin McPherson scored with 8.3 seconds left for the 6-5 final.
Carey, who tallied an assist on a Cam Atkinson goal in the second period, finished with the contest with three points. His linemates - senior Brian Gibbons and Atkinson - also recorded three points - one goal and two assists - in the victory, BC's fourth straight dating back to Nov. 28.
Senior goaltender John Muse recorded 29 saves to improve to 11-3-0 this season and 73-36-15 in his career.
BC, which opened the scoring one minute, 26 seconds into the game on Jimmy Hayes' eighth goal of the season, trailed 3-1 after the first 20 minutes of play. It outscored Colgate 3-1 in the middle period and 2-1 in the final frame to capture the win.
Gibbons and Atkinson scored goals 49 seconds apart early in the second period to tie the score at 3-3. Colgate's Kurtis Bartliff gave his team a 4-3 lead at 16:33 before Carey netted his first of two scores - a power-play goal - at 18:41.
Team Records: Colgate - 3-13-1; Boston College - 12-5-0.
Game Notes: The game marked the first meeting between the schools since the 1983-84 season. BC improved to 22-2-0 in the all-time series against Colgate ... BC played without three sophomores - defenseman Brian Dumoulin, forward Chris Kreider and defenseman Patrick Wey; each is competing for the United States at the 2011 World Junior Championship ... Sophomore defenseman Patch Alber did not play because of injury ... Freshman forward Kevin Hayes saw his first action since Nov. 5 while junior alternate captain Tommy Cross saw his action since Oct. 29.