HAMILTON – The Colgate men's hockey program skated to a 2-2 overtime tie on Senior Night as it hosted St. Lawrence for the final game of the regular season.
With their efforts this season, the Raiders earned the No. 8 seed in the ECAC Tournament and is to host No. 9 seeded Brown at Class of 1965 Arena in the best-of-three First Round series next weekend.
HOW IT HAPPENED
It was a slow start on the sheet until
Jared Cockrell picked off a turnover and Vachon swooped in for the putaway midway through the opening period of play. The Raiders held their one-goal lead until St. Lawrence served up a quick wrister through the five-hole late in the period to make it a 1-1 game.
Despite another Colgate chance in the final 2:00, it was gloved down in the paint to keep it a tied game after 20:00.
In the opening minutes of the second period, Ben Marshall picked off another turnover serving up a
John Snodgrass breakaway. That too was gloved up to keep the stalemate. It began a rapid fire attack by the Raiders as
Ben Sharf saw a shot from the edge of the crease, which was followed by a bullet from the blueline by
Ross Craig.
After competing in a period in which the Raiders played so strong that it had the effect of a man advantage, they faced a couple of tough minutes defensively late in the period. It led to a timeout being called with 1:01 remaining, where the Raiders came out of it to fire three shots on goal before the horn.
Although they had the quality looks, the Raiders headed into the third period facing a 1-1 tie. After returning to the ice,
Griffin Lunn was able to get two quick shots off but the teams played on.
Once the Raiders were granted their first power play of the game, they looked to capitalize on the opportunity. And capitalize they did, as Cockrell scored early in to gain a 2-1 advantage. Although Colgate quickly saw a second power play late it the game, St. Lawrence would be able to hold off another attack.
In the final minutes of regulation, the Saints opted to pulled their netminder for an extra skater and were able to score off the offensive zone faceoff to force overtime.
Through the first part of extra hockey action, the Raiders got the better of the looks. Midway through, St. Lawrence edged back, but in the final minute,
Bobby McMann and
Ben Sharf flew down the ice with a 2-on-1 opportunity. Sharf was robbed of an overtime tally with a flying pad save, a move that would lead to the sound of the horn on a 2-2 tie.
COLGATE SCORING PLAYS
• Period 1 | 10:55 – As St. Lawrence looked to break out of the zone,
Jared Cockrell created a turnover that he fed over to
Arnaud Vachon. The freshman then sent a one-timer past the tender for a 1-0 lead.
• Period 3 | 08:30 – While with the man advantage,
Trevor Cosgrove crossed the puck along the blueline to
John Snodgrass. The senior then crossed it to Cockrell at the top of the slot and he fired it through traffic to gain a 2-1 lead on the power play.
STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
• With the opening goal, freshman
Arnaud Vachon recorded his sixth of the year and second in the last three games.
• By tacking on an assist along with his power play goal, senior
Jared Cockrell earned his second multi-point night of the season. He now ties the top of the team with 10 assists for a total of 16 points.
• Strong special teams, Colgate went 1-for-2 on the power play, and held its opponent scoreless with the man advantage for the 15th time this season.
• It is also the sixth consecutive game that the Raiders have held their opponent scoreless on the power play.
• Senior
Ben Sharf had an offensive presence all weekend as he posted a team-high of five shots on goal for the second straight night.
• Leading the team to 13 blocked shots was freshman
Liam Watson-Brawn with four. The number is just one shy of his season-best of five at Dartmouth (Dec. 6, 2019).
• Strong in the circle, senior center
Tyler Penner won 10 of his 13 faceoff attempts on the night. As a team, the Raiders held a strong 42-26 edge in faceoff wins.
• Before the game, the program honored its eight-player senior class as
Paul Meyer,
Ross Craig,
John Snodgrass,
Bobby McMann,
Jared Cockrell,
Jacob Panetta,
Ben Sharf, and
Tyler Penner graduate with the Class of 2020.
THE BOTTOM LINE
• Colgate 2, St. Lawrence 2 – Overtime
RECORD UPDATES
• Colgate holds a 10-16-8 record, and an 8-9-5 mark in ECAC Hockey action.
• St. Lawrence is 4-25-5 overall on the season and is 2-18-2 in ECAC play.
UP NEXT
The No. 8 seeded Raiders have secured home ice for next weekend's First Round of the ECAC Tournament. Game time is set for 7 p.m. on March 6, 7, and 8 in the best-of-three series against No. 9 seeded Brown.
FOLLOW THE RAIDERS
For more information on the Colgate men's hockey program, follow the Raiders on Twitter @ColgateMIH and Instagram at colgate_mih.
