OXFORD, Ohio – The Colgate men's hockey program continued nonconference play on Friday evening as it faced Miami (OH) in the first of a two-game road series. Although the Raiders got on the board by sophomore
Josh McKechney's first goal of the season, the RedHawks edged ahead in a 4-1 final.
The game opened with a flurry of shots on the Miami netminder, and the Raiders quickly gained their first man advantage of the night. Although the power play featured a pair of quality scoring chances by senior
Adam Dauda, the RedHawks were first to get on the board when they capitalized on a 2-on-1 opportunity with 5:56 remaining in the period.
Still a narrow game with attempted shots at 19-19 after the first, the Raiders were looking to convert on offensive opportunities when they carried over 1:17 of power play time. The RedHawks defense held strong to kill Colgate's second advantage, and was able to take a 2-0 lead with a deep screen of the net. With much of the play sweeping across either end of the ice, Colgate's third power play chance of the game generated five shots on goal, and ultimately the McKechney tally. The Calgary, Alberta native's first goal of the season came with the advantage to narrow it to a one-goal game at 2-1 RedHawks.
In the final minutes of the period, Miami was able to extend its lead to the two-goal advantage yet again when they posted a power play goal of their own. When Colgate was battling back through the waning minutes of regulation, a RedHawk's quick snipe off the draw sealed the scoring for the night in the 4-1 final.
SCORING PLAYS
• Period 2 | 12:25 – After an initial shot from the point, a cluster at the net and a persistent poke at the puck for a rebound resulted in
Josh McKechney scoring his first goal of the season. Assisted by seniors
Hunter Racine and
Willie Brooks, the cluster at the crease helped edge the puck under the pads of the Miami netminder on the power play.
STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
• With his power play tally, it is McKechney's first goal and point of the season after posting 17 points in his debut season by five goals and 12 assists.
• Consistently narrow throughout the game, Miami edged past in shots on goal by a 32-29 margin, although the Raiders peppered the home team's zone with 59 attempted shots compared to Miami's 50.
• Freshman goaltender
Mitch Benson faced 32 shots on goal by the Miami offense, and made a game-high of 13 saves in the opening period of play.
• The offensive push generated the most shots in the third period, as Colgate peppered the Miami tender with 12. Leading the Raiders with shots on goal were seniors
Adam Dauda and
Bobby McMann, each with four.
• Colgate's goals in the 2018-19 have all come by six different goal scorers.
• Senior
Willie Brooks played in his 100th game in his career tonight, a span in which he has marked 28 points by six goals and 22 assists. With a hand in McKechney's tally, it also marks Brooks' first point on the season.
THE BOTTOM LINE
• Miami (OH) 4, Colgate 1
RECORD UPDATES
• Colgate now holds a 2-2-0 record overall.
• Miami (OH) improves to 5-2 on the season.
COACH VAUGHAN'S TAKE
"We worked hard, but at the end of the day, we need someone to step up and make a play. A couple of Miami's guys stepped up with big plays and scored two goals. We need more guys to try to be creative and we're giving them the green light to do that. I think once guys become more comfortable at attempting plays, we'll see more of it. But for now we're hoping the puck gets to the net and not working hard enough sometimes to make sure it gets to the net."
"We had a number of shots blocked again tonight, and a lot of that comes with changing the angle and moving your feet to change that angle. So they are little things to improve on, they aren't big things, and I think we worked pretty hard on the road."
"We had some tough luck early, and I thought the puck bounced on us and nerves played on a few of the guys, but again, we just need to find the guys to make some plays."
"I thought we got pucks in and created a bit more chaos tonight. After the first period, we limited their red zone shots to six, so I think we're doing something right in our own end for the most part, it's at the other end where we need create."
UP NEXT
Colgate looks to rebound in the series finale at Miami (OH) on Saturday, Oct. 27 with a 5 p.m. puck drop, before returning home to Class of 1965 Arena for a six-game home stand.
FOLLOW THE RAIDERS
For more information on the Colgate men's hockey program, follow the Raiders on Twitter @ColgateMIH and Instagram at colgate_mih.
