HAMILTON – Despite a goal by
Arnaud Vachon, the Colgate men's hockey program fell in a 2-1 final to ECAC Hockey foe St. Lawrence.
The first of a three-game lineup, the Raiders now travel to Canton, N.Y. for the remaining road games Saturday and Sunday.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The game featured overlapping penalties to open the conference matchup, before Colgate saw its first complete penalty kill. The time was capped with a shorthanded look by
Paul McAvoy, but the teams played on in a scoreless game.
It wasn't until the Raiders faced another penalty kill in the final minutes of the period that
Andrew Farrier stopped a shot, but St. Lawrence scored on the rebound for a 1-0 lead.
There were more alternating penalty calls to start off the second period as well that generated a scoring chance by
Josh McKechney in 4-on-4 play, but St. Lawrence held onto its narrow lead. The gap was widened as the Saints beat the glove side to gain a 2-0 edge midway through regulation.
Farrier was forced to make another impressive coast-to-coast stop in the final minutes of the period, as the Raiders faced a two-goal deficit entering the final 20:00. Then with 13:03 remaining,
Arnaud Vachon put up the wraparound for his first of the season to make it a one-goal game.
As the clock ticked down on regulation, the Raiders pressured back with an outstanding third period of offense. There were a pair of chances by
Ross Mitton as the Raiders stormed the crease, while a shot by
Nick Anderson stopped the clock with 1:00 on, leading to a Colgate timeout.
With an empty net, the six Raiders attacked. Battling through the final horn, Colgate couldn't claim that second goal to tie the game to settle for a 2-1 final.
COLGATE SCORING PLAY
• Period 3 | 06:57 – From the goal line,
PJ Garrett fed the puck to
Trevor Cosgrove at the blue line. After
Arnaud Vachon received it behind the net, he wrapped it around to the right of the net and tucked it into the back of the net.
STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
• Sophomore
Arnaud Vachon scored his first of the season. Now holding three points on the year, it comes after the Ajax, Ontario native tallied nine in his freshman season (6G, 3A).
• With an apple on the goal, first-year
PJ Garrett recorded his first career point. He becomes the 14th Raider to record a point this season.
• After scoring against RIT (Dec. 29), senior
Trevor Cosgrove picked up a second point on the year with the first assist on Vachon's goal.
• A growing trend for the Raiders this season, they were most effective in the third period, outshooting St. Lawrence 12-6, for a 26-22 margin on the night.
• Between the pipes, junior netminder
Andrew Farrier tallied 20 saves, including a game-high of nine in the second period.
• Underclassmen made an impact, as sophomore
Colton Young led the team with four shots on goal, while first-year
Nick Anderson topped the team with three blocked shots.
THE BOTTOM LINE
• St. Lawrence 2, Colgate 1
RECORD UPDATES
• Colgate holds a 1-3-2 record, and a 0-2-2 mark in ECAC Hockey action.
• St. Lawrence is 2-0-1 overall on the season and is 2-0-1 in ECAC play.
UP NEXT
Colgate continues the three-game series against St. Lawrence with a pair of road matchups in Canton, N.Y. on Saturday and Sunday. Puck drop is set 7 p.m. on Jan. 9, followed by 5 p.m. on Jan. 10.
FOLLOW THE RAIDERS
For more information on the Colgate men's hockey program, follow the Raiders on Twitter @ColgateMIH and Instagram at colgate_mih.
