“I think there was a great sense of urgency on both sides, and there were a couple of terrific plays both from our side as well as their side,” said Grumet-Morris, who recorded 46 saves on the evening. “In that situation, you’re just trying to make it to the end of the period and regroup in the locker room and take it to overtime.”

Once there, according to Lannon, experience simply kicked in and tempered any negative thoughts.

“Obviously we weren’t happy with the way the end of the game went,” he said. “But the mood was light in the locker room. We never panicked. We never got too worried about it. We were just enjoying ourselves and staying loose. We knew it was just going to take another goal.”

Precisely when that goal would come, however, was anything but certain. Tired and reluctant to risk a game-ending mistake, both sides assumed more conservative styles of play in the first overtime, drastically reducing the number of viable scoring opportunities.

But with skaters battling cramps and dehydration, that approach couldn’t last and play markedly opened up early in the second overtime.

“Late in the game, we were juggling lines simply because we had to. We had guys cramping up on the bench,” Vaughan said. “There wasn’t anything we could do.”

Following a minute of extended pressure at its own end, Colgate narrowly missed its last good chance to claim the victory at 13:50. Grumet-Morris turned aside the Raiders’ initial opportunity, but the rebound kicked to his right to Kyle Wilson, who quickly sent the puck back on net. Disoriented and discombobulated, Grumet-Morris allowed the effort to slide between his legs and through the crease before skipping just inches wide of the far post.

Two minutes later, Du tiptoed behind the Colgate defense and buried the game-winner.

“It wasn’t pretty from a coach’s perspective,” Donato said. “But I’m happy with the result, you know? What can you say?...This group of seniors—it’s their fourth ECAC championship appearance. And I’m glad they took me along for the ride.”

—Staff writer Timothy J. McGinn can be reached at mcginn@fas.harvard.edu.