HAMILTON –
Ross Mitton scored the game-winning goal in the third period to lift Colgate over Niagara 2-1 Saturday evening at the Class of 1965 Arena. The victory earned the Raiders a split in the weekend series.
"It was a good answer from our group after a tough one last night. I'm looking forward to rivalry week next Friday," said head coach Mike Harder after the victory.
Mitton netted his fifth goal of the season on a power play at the 10:25 mark of the third, giving his team the 2-1 advantage.
Ryan McGuire passed to
Nick Anderson, who ripped a shot from just past the blueline that Mitton redirected into the goal.
Niagara had tied it up just under four minutes into the second with a power play goal from Carter Randklev.
Reid Irwin put the Raiders ahead 1-0 with just under four and a half minutes remaining in the first.
Daniel Panetta scrapped out a loose puck along the boards and tapped it to
Ethan Manderville, who played a pass across the ice that hit off the boards. Irwin picked up the puck and ripped a shot into the back of the net from outside the right faceoff circle.
Andrew Takacs earned his first career win in goal, making 22 saves. The sophomore stopped 11 of those shots in the second period, including four saves in less than a minute at the end of the period. He also came up with a pair of stops in the final 11 seconds of the contest after Niagara pulled its goalie and brought out an extra attacker.
Mitton soaked the final shot of the game as time expired to seal the deal for Colgate.
The Raiders had other scoring chances throughout the contest, with five other man-up opportunities in addition to the one they scored on. The penalty kill unit also killed off a Niagara power play in both the first and second.
Colgate outshot Niagara 11-6 in the final period on its way to finishing with a 32-23 advantage in the game.
UP NEXT
The Raiders take on local rival Cornell in a home-and-home series next weekend. Colgate will welcome the Big Red to the Class of 1965 Arena for a 7 p.m. faceoff Friday before heading to Ithaca Saturday for a rematch at the same time.
