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Colgate University Athletics

Celebration
Bob Cornell

Men's Ice Hockey By Matt Faulkner

Resilient Raiders To Play For Title

Tyson Spink's Double-OT Tally Beats Quinnipiac; First Title Game Since 1990

Kyle Baun celebrates the game-tying goal with 56 seconds left in regulation.
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LAKE PLACID, N.Y. – Tyson Spink scored on a rebound 58 seconds into the second overtime to send Colgate to the ECAC Hockey Championship.

The Raiders (20-12-5) were down 2-1 to Quinnipiac with less than a minute left in regulation and without an extra-attacker goal all season long. The outlook seemed grim.

Kyle Baun took care of that, however, with a tough garbage goal in front of the net with 56 seconds left to tie the game 2-2. Tyson Spink then became the hero 58 seconds into the second overtime to send Colgate to its first ECAC Hockey title game since 1990 with a 3-2 win.

Tyson Spink's goal helped the Raiders erase a two-goal deficit that was staring them in the face nearing the end of the second period. Baun took the initial shot that Martin Garteig pushed aside, but Tyson Spink was left all alone in the slot and he buried it for the gamewinner.

"You are not going to win if your best players don't play well, and tonight our best players did the job," Raiders head coach Don Vaughan. "It was a heck of win for our players and for our program.

"Personally for me, I have been here a lot of times and it's the first time we are in the finals. We have been in the semifinals a lot, so it is exciting for all of us to play for the title tomorrow." 

Quinnipiac (24-9-6) got goals from Connor Jones and Sam Anas in the second period, but the Bobcats were shut down the rest of the way by Charlie Finn. The rookie netminder made 30 stops, but none were bigger than the 10 he had in the first overtime. He outdueled Garteig, who pushed aside 33 shots.

"Charlie took a few games this year to adjust, but he has been very good for us down the stretch," Baun said of his teammate. "He works really hard in practice and he has been solid. He knows how to play hockey and won a lot of big games in juniors, and he has proven himself here tonight."

The first period was a defensive battle with only a few offensive chances. Colgate had to be on its toes for most of the period as the Bobcats had two power-play opportunities. Finn and Garteig sniffed out all chances with each team putting seven shots on net. Colgate had the best crack as Joe Wilson put a shot on Garteig and the netminder couldn't control the rebound. Darcy Murphy swooped in and shoveled one past Garteig, but it hit off iron.

Quinnipiac gained the first lead with Connor Jones scoring on a breakaway. The Bobcats hit the home run two-line pass and Connor Jones found himself behind the defense. Kellen Jones connected with his brother from the defensive zone and he was able to put it home for the 1-0 advantage.

The Bobcats increased the lead to 2-0 with a power play goal coming from Anas. He lined up the shot from the high slot and put it through traffic. Finn was in the right position, but the puck took a deflection and found the back of the net.

Colgate got on the board late in the second frame with Andrew Black scoring on a bad angle shot. He gained control of the puck in the corner and put a cross-ice shot through the crease. Garteig was moving back to make the save and he knocked the puck into the net for Colgate's first goal of the night.

The third period had limited scoring opportunities, but the big sophomore came through when Colgate needed it. Tylor Spink got the first touch on the puck and during a scrum it squirted out to Baun and he hammered it home and sent the Colgate crowd into a frenzy. The Raiders were back in it after being down 2-0 late in the second.

The story of the first overtime was Finn and Garteig. Both goalies stood tall making 10 and nine stops, respectively. Each made game-saving stops with sudden death on the line.

The Raiders gave up a power play goal, but the penalty kill was great, allowing only four shots on net. Colgate went 0-for-3 on its power plays with one abbreviated chance with under a minute of extra-man time.

"Our penalty kill was exceptional tonight," Vaughan said. "Charlie made some huge saves for us when we needed him to. Our go-to guys stepped up. Kyle getting the game-tying goal with a big and strong play out front of the net and he set up the gamewinner as well for Tyson."

The ECAC Hockey Championship is Saturday night at 7:30 p.m., with an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament on the line against top-seeded Union.
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