Five's for fighting

Mules make 5th period their own

Everything about the 1st period worked for Colby on Saturday at Alfond Rink, everything but the red light behind Castleton State goaltender Jay Seals.

The Mules outshot the Spartans handily. They held Castelton to just 3 total shots across 3 power play opportunities. They cycled the puck, made good decisions and kept the visitors hemmed deep in their own end.

The Mules did everything they had to do on home ice, that is, except score.

"The way our schedule is, playing Friday nights and then Saturday afternoons, it's always about the 5th period of the weekend," said Colby coach Jim Tortorella. "It's about the 2nd period of the 2nd game of the weekend. We talk about it all the time, about winning that period."

It's just what the Mules did Saturday, scoring 4 times in the 2nd period against Castleton and turning that momentum into a 6-3 win over the ECAC East Spartans. Sophomore Michael Belliveau scored 2 of the goals and set up the 2 others, while the team's leading scorer, T.J. Kelley, also scored in the frame. Kelley and Belliveau finished the game with identical 2-2--2 totals.

That 2nd period effort was the difference between a lackluster weekend split and a weekend sweep that builds momentum heading into an emotional home-and-home weekend next week with rival Bowdoin College.

It certainly helped the Mules, too, that Castleton spent the weekend on the road -- having lost Friday night at Bowdoin before having to play a 2nd game away from home less some 19 hours later.

"Whether you're on the road and you have to grind it out, or whether you're the home team trying to put the other team away," Tortorella said, "you've got to win that period."

Kelley said Colby came out ready to go for the 2nd, fueled by having successfully killed off 2 lengthy 5-on-3 disadvantages late in the 1st.

"We came out and we wanted to win. I think we just wanted it more. Everybody came out flying, getting shots to net and just getting it deep and working harder," Kelley said. "We were just looking to get shots from anywhere and put it on net. Do that, and you never know what will happen."