CANTON, N.Y. – As three Raiders recorded multi-point nights, the Colgate men's hockey program earned a 4-2 victory at St. Lawrence on Saturday evening.
In the second of a three-game series with the Saints this weekend, first-year netminder
Carter Gylander recorded a 34-save performance prior to Sunday's series finale.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Starting out with looks on either end of the sheet, there were chances at the net as the Raiders looked to make an impact early. It wasn't until the final minutes of the period that
Elliott McDermott scored the first of his career to put Colgate up 1-0. It was a lead that would hold through the period as Gylander made a pair of big saves to burn off the first penalty of the night.
The second period opened with a flurry of action as the Raiders drew their first power play of the night, however St. Lawrence capitalized on an opening to tie the game with a shorthanded goal. Minutes later, the Saints scored on the rebound to claim a brief 2-1 lead before the midway point of regulation.
It was with the next man advantage that the Raiders were able to right the ship as
Matt Verboon's power play tally beat the blocker side to make it a 2-2 game. Before the horn sounded,
Alex Young went on to reclaim the lead for the Raiders for a 3-2 advantage.
It was that momentum that powered the Colgate squad through the third period as its defense repelled St. Lawrence's efforts to even the score through the final 20:00. After opting to pull their netminder and use their timeout, the Saints couldn't hold off the Raiders as they attacked with one more goal by
Ross Mitton with just 9.1 remaining to seal the 4-2 victory to hand St. Lawrence its first loss of the season.
COLGATE SCORING PLAYS
• Period 1 | 15:29 – To open the scoring,
Elliott McDermott took a shot from the point and through traffic, it trickled through the five-hole to lift the Raiders to a 1-0 lead.
• Period 2 | 6:15 – Setting the foundation of the power play, the Raiders made their place in the offensive zone. As
Levi Glasman careened the puck from the left point to
Matt Verboon at the right faceoff circle, his one-timer sped past the netminder to score on with the man advantage.
• Period 2 | 13:56 – As the Raiders crashed into the St. Lawrence zone, they fed the puck towards the crease. After Verboon's shot,
Alex Young crossed the zone to clean it up and score on the backdoor.
• Period 3 | 19:51 – Capitalizing on the empty net,
Pierson Brandon banked the puck off the boards ahead to
Ross Mitton at center ice. Sending it home to the twine, Mitton made it a 4-2 game with his first of his career.
STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
• Two first-years in
Elliott McDermott and
Ross Mitton each scored their first career goals as Raiders.
• A trio of first-years in McDermott,
Alex Young and
Levi Glasman each earned multi-point nights. It's a first career multi-point performance by Glasman.
• Recording his third of the season was sophomore
Matt Verboon as he notched the tying goal with the man advantage. It marks the second power play goal in his career.
• With assists on the night, both
Arnaud Vachon and
Griffin Lunn begin two game point streaks.
• Notching his second game-winner of the year was
Alex Young on a team-high of four shots on goal.
• Matching the four shots on goal was fellow first-year
Pierson Brandon, who marked a apple on the night.
• In goal first-year netminder
Carter Gylander recorded a season-high of 34 saves, including a game-high of 15 in the second period.
• As St. Lawrence went 0-for-3 on the power play, the Raiders held their oppoonents scoreless with the man advantage for the third time this season.
THE BOTTOM LINE
• Colgate 4, St. Lawrence 2
RECORD UPDATES
• Colgate holds a 2-3-2 record, and a 1-2-1 mark in ECAC Hockey action.
• St. Lawrence is 2-1-1 overall on the season and is 2-1-1 in ECAC play.
HEAD COACH DON VAUGHAN'S TAKE
"I loved our compete tonight. It was a good response from a Thursday game where we seemed a little off. St. Lawrence is very well coached. Brent Brekke and his staff have done a remarkable job in a short period of time. They are very hard to play against.
"We had a number of our younger guys step up tonight. The injury bug has hit us all of the sudden. We were without seniors
Tyler Jeanson and
Nick Austin tonight and
Colton Young was not available. We have three guys that are likely out for the season so to have the first-year guys step up has been a huge plus. It's never easy but we found a way tonight.
"There was
Elliott McDermott and
Matt Verboon with big goals tonight,
Alex Young with the game-winner, and then to have
Ross Mitton finish things off with the empty net goal was special. Time now to reset and get ready for tomorrow."
UP NEXT
The Raiders round out the three-game series against St. Lawrence with a 5 p.m. puck drop tomorrow, Jan. 10. Remaining on the road, the game will be available on ESPN+.
FOLLOW THE RAIDERS
For more information on the Colgate men's hockey program, follow the Raiders on Twitter @ColgateMIH and Instagram at colgate_mih.
