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HAMILTON, N.Y. (12/10/11) – Robbie Bourdon scored late in the second period to erase a 1-0 Merrimack lead, but that was it for scoring on Saturday night as the battle between the No. 11/12 Colgate men's hockey team and fifth-ranked Merrimack ended in a 1-1 tie.
The Raiders (11-4-2) extended their unbeaten streak to six games thanks to Bourdon's sixth of the season.
Austin Smith and
Kurtis Bartliff earned the assists on the goal. For Bartliff, it was his first game in the lineup since Oct. 14 against Miami.
Eric Mihalik made 25 saves to earn his first tie of the year.
The Warriors (10-2-2) got their lone goal from Brendan Ellis with Shawn Bates and Ryan Flanigan posting the assists. Joe Cannata come up big for Merrimack with 34 saves, which came down to double-digits stops in each period.
Merrimack was able to strike first with Ellis scoring seven minutes into the game on a rebound infront. Flanigan got the initial shot on net that Mihalik stopped, but the puck popped up in the air and out to Ellis and he caught the bouncing puck with his stick for his second of the season. The game was played evenly for the first 20 minutes with the Warriors earning an 11-10 shot advantage. Each squad failed on its one chance on the power play.
The Raiders tied the game up with seven minutes left in the second period with Bourdon notching his sixth of the season. Smith slipped a pass over to Bartliff and he found Bourdon at the far post and Cannata had no shot at stopping the puck as Bourdon hit the open net. Colgate dominated most of the play in the second frame, outshooting the Warriors, 12-4, in the period.
After an evenly played third period, the teams went to overtime. Merrimack got a huge advantage as Colgate was called for boarding one minute into the extra frame. The Raiders were able to kill of the penalty and as the Colgate skater left the box, the Raiders had a 3-on-1 chance. The puck was shifted to
Corbin McPherson at the far post, but he couldn't beat Cannata, who was ready for the shot and the game ended in a 1-1 tie.
The Raiders will enjoy a 20-day break for finals and the holidays and will be back at Starr Rink on Dec. 30 as Colgate hosts Canisius.
NOTES: Six-game unbeaten streak is the longest since 2009-10 … first game against Merrimack in 10 years and first tie in the series … Smith's assist gives him a point streak of eight games … he is now tied with David McIntyre '10 on the all-time point list with 131 points … when tied or leading after two periods, Colgate is 11-2-1 … 5-3-1 when the opponent scores first.
