HAMILTON – With a 3-0 shutout of Brown, the Colgate men's hockey program claimed the opening game of the First Round playoffs in the ECAC Tournament. Behind a 19-save shutout by
Mitch Benson and the game-winner by
Jared Cockrell, the No. 8 seeded Raiders gained a 1-0 advantage in the best-of-three series at Class of 1965 Arena over No. 9 Brown.
HOW IT HAPPENED
As Colgate started to gain opportunities in a slow start to the game,
Henry Marshall was able to land a pair of pucks on the netminder. After the Raiders earned their first of four successful penalty kills of the night, it ignited the squad, leading to the majority of the remainder of the period taking place in Brown's zone.
It was with 4:25 remaining in the period when an icing called the puck back to Brown's zone. Capitalizing on the offensive zone opportunity,
Jared Cockrell scored off the faceoff to help the Raiders head to the locker room holding a one-goal lead.
The second period featured whistles few and far between as there were tough battles for the puck. In goal,
Mitch Benson made a toe stop to keep Colgate ahead. As the Raiders faced another penalty kill midway through regulation, Benson continued to be tested but withstood the pressure of an extra skater.
Colgate's defensemen put the team first blocking shots, while Benson's eyes on the puck kept the Raiders ahead 1-0. After facing more defensive play as the period went on, Colgate was able to flee down the ice for another chance through traffic at the edge of the crease, but it would remain a one-goal game as the team's entered the third period.
Colgate returned to the ice to burn 21 seconds of remaining penalty time before beginning to regenerate the offensive momentum. It wasn't until midway through the period when the Raiders would draw their first power play of the game. While it was a quality man advantage, Brown returned its skater before the Raiders could snap the twine.
Colgate was granted another power play opportunity once Brown was caught with too many men on the ice in the final minutes of regulation. With a ringer, the captain
Bobby McMann was able to increase the Raiders lead to 2-0.
Keeping consistent pressure down in Brown's end, the Raiders prevented the Bears' goalie to come out until under a minute remained in regulation. Once pulled,
Ben Sharf was able to capitalize on a turnover at the blue line to create a breakaway and score on the empty net, sealing a 3-0 victory in Game One of the ECAC First Round.
COLGATE SCORING PLAYS
• Period 1 | 15:37 – After an icing call brought the puck back to Brown's zone, the faceoff was decisive. As the puck was dropped, a Brown winger poked at the puck, looking to clear it, but it was tipped directly to
Jared Cockrell. His one-timer was sent blocker side through traffic for a 1-0 lead.
• Period 3 | 14:39 – After
Colton Young fished the puck out from along the boards, he sent it up to
Bobby McMann at the point. The captain passed over to
Jacob Panetta to create space, and after receiving the puck back, McMann scored with a ringer from the top of the slot to make it 2-0 while with the man advantage.
• Period 3 | 19:23 – Shortly after Brown pulled its goalie for an extra attacker,
Ben Sharf was able to pick the puck off on a pass across the blue line and break away for an empty netter with 36.8 remaining in regulation and a 3-0 game.
STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
• Behind 19 saves, sophomore goaltender
Mitch Benson recorded his second shutout of the season. His last came in the scoreless tie at then-No. 18 UMass Lowell (Oct. 19, 2019).
• It was a senior scoring streak as
Jared Cockrell,
Bobby McMann, and
Ben Sharf all scored for the Raiders.
• Now holding seven on the season,
Jared Cockrell begins a two-game scoring streak.
• Recording his 12th power play goal of his career was captain
Bobby McMann.
•
Ben Sharf joined McMann in recording their team-leading 10th goals of the season.
• 14 different Raiders recorded a blocked shot, as Colgate held a 21-10 edge in blocked shots.
• Strong on the special team battle, Colgate held its opponent scoreless on the power play for the seventh straight game as Brown went 0-for-4.
• Colgate also went 1-for-3 on the power play to earn its seventh power play goal in the last 10 games.
THE BOTTOM LINE
• Colgate 3, Brown 0
RECORD UPDATES
• Colgate holds a 11-16-8 record, and went 8-9-5 in ECAC Hockey action.
• Brown is 8-20-2 overall on the season and earned an 8-12-2 record in ECAC play.
HEAD COACH DON VAUGHAN'S TAKE
"Brown really came at us early, so I was happy with our response to that pressure in the third. Our guys did a great job at bouncing back and our penalty kill was excellent.
Mitch Benson was exceptional in goal, and that's what you need when you're battling for playoff wins.
"Brown came at us hard, they had a game plan, and I was proud with how our guys were able to respond.
"Special teams are important, no question about that, but it's not over – it's the same message that I'm sure Brown is telling its guys. You have to win two games to win the series. It's great to get the first one, but we have a lot of work to do yet.
"We need to have a better start tomorrow, and I'm sure Brown is going to come out hard again. We have to regroup, we'll take a look at the video, and make some adjustments to get ready to go back to battle."
UP NEXT
Colgate looks to claim the series sweep tomorrow as it continues the best-of-three First Round series against Brown. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. at Class of 1965 Arena.
FOLLOW THE RAIDERS
For more information on the Colgate men's hockey program, follow the Raiders on Twitter @ColgateMIH and Instagram at colgate_mih.
