Box Score

ITHACA, N.Y. (1/27/12) – The Colgate men's hockey team jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period and played great team defense to hold off No. 6/9 Cornell as the Raiders defeated the Big Red, 2-1, at Lynah Rink on Friday night.

Colgate (13-9-3, 7-5-1 ECAC) handed Cornell its first loss at home since its home opener in October, thanks to goals from Chris Wagner and Joe Wilson. Wagner's came shorthanded, while Wilson tallied the game-winner late in the first. Austin Smith tallied his 39th point of the season with an assist and Jeremy Price, NIck Prockow and Kurtis Bartliff also had helpers. Eric Mihalik got the win with 17 stops between the pipes.

Cornell (11-5-4, 8-2-3 ECAC) got its lone goal from Joakim Ryan with assists to Nick D'Agostino and Dustin Mowrey. Andy Iles earned the start in net and made 16 stops.

The Raiders took the early lead on the Big Red with a shorthanded goal coming four minutes into the opening period. Jeremy Price went to clear the puck up the boards and hit Wagner in stride at the offensive blueline. Smith then came charging off the bench and a 2-on-1 developed. The two then connected on a give-and-go and Wagner hit the open net for the 1-0 advantage. It was Colgate's ninth shorthanded goal of the year.

Wilson made it 2-0 in favor of the Raiders with his second goal in as many games and his sixth of the year. The score came with 2:44 left in the first as Kurtis Bartliff got the puck in the corner, but no Cornell player picked him up. He was able to snap a pass to Wilson in front and he beat Iles for the two-goal lead. Colgate was outshot in the period, 9-7, and Mihalik came up big multiple times to keep the Big Red off the board for the first 20 minutes. Smith had a great chance midway through the period with another give-and-go with Wagner, but Iles reached out with right pad to keep the puck out of the net.

Cornell cut the Raider advantage down to 2-1 as Ryan scored with 6:10 remaining in the second period. He got a pass from D'Agostino and while a Cornell player was screening Mihalik in front, Ryan put a wrister on net that hit the top corner. Mihalik was in position, but with the screen was unable to see the puck. The game continued to be a defensive struggle as the Big Red outshot the Raiders, 7-6, in the period.

The third period feature virtually no offense as Colgate outshot the Big Red, 6-1. Cornell got two power play opportunities of the frame and didn't get a shot off. The second of the two came with 16 seconds left, which turned into a 6-on-4 situation. The Raiders were able to tie up the faceoff and get the puck out of the zone to earn the win.

The two teams will be back at it tomorrow night in Hamilton for a 7 p.m. start at Starr Rink. There are a limited amount of tickets that are still available and walk-up sales will begin at 5:30 p.m. at the Colgate Ticket Office.

NOTES: Wagner extended his point streak to six games and posted his 10th goal of the season … He scored his second shortie of the year … Wilson has a three-game point streak going … of the eight goals scored by the freshmen class, Wilson has six of them … Colgate has now outscored opponents 25-16 in the first period, which is the best scoring margin among the three periods (+9) … the Raiders scored shorthanded for the second-straight game and leads the nation with nine on the season … Colgate took a lead into the third period for the 13th time this season … The win halted a six-game winless streak for the Raiders … Colgate has held two of its last three opponents to just one shot in the third period ... Colgate is now 11-2-0 when leading after two periods and handed Cornell its first lost on Friday night this season.