SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – It was as senior captain
Bobby McMann backhanded the puck through the five-hole on a penalty shot in the final minutes of regulation that sealed the Colgate men's hockey program's 3-2 win at Union on Friday evening. The penalty shot game-winner capped a redeeming second period for the Raiders, as they overcame a two-goal deficit to open the weekend of ECAC action with a win.
HOW IT HAPPENED
It was a slow start to the opening period for the Raiders, until Union was awarded back-to-back power plays. When Colgate's first kill was tested, the Dutchmen scored with a passing backdoor goal midway through the period. The penalty kill was troublesome yet again as Union went on to score with the man advantage yet again for a 2-0 edge through 20:00.
The Raiders returned to the ice for the second period looking for redemption, their efforts paying off in a swift fashion. Colgate opened with a drive that put the team within one just over a minute after the puck was dropped as
Jared Cockrell found the twine. Minutes later,
Tyler Penner popped a similar top shelf tally to level the game at 2-2 while also drawing a penalty in a Colgate 2-for-1 even before the teams reached the midway point of regulation.
The game would remain even as the clock expired on the second and midway through the third. A promising chance came as
Griffin Lunn picked a puck off the defenders before fleeing down the ice on a breakway. A fleeting chance, Union's goaltender flashed his blocker to send it high and out of play to keep it a tie game.
Both teams driving to break the stalemate, it was
Andrew Farrier between the pipes who was key in keeping things square for Colgate. The sophomore netminder made several big stops at the net as the clock continued to tick away.
The ice was scattered with scrappy play as the teams fought for touches of the puck looking to break the tie in regulation. It wasn't until a scuffle around the crease that the officials whistled and arms went up signaling a penalty call.
For a delay of game in the crease, Colgate was awarded a penalty shot with just 1:11 remaining in regulation. The captain strode to center ice and picked up the puck, flipping it through the five hole past the Union netminder to secure a 3-2 Colgate lead in the final minutes.
With 1:11 to work with, Union opted to pull the goalie for the remainder looking to force overtime. An energized squad, Colgate was able to keep play outside of dangerous zones to hold off the home team through the final horn, sealing the 3-2 victory in conference action.
COLGATE SCORING PLAYS
• Period 2 | 01:07 – In a breakout play,
Josh McKechney picked up the bounce off the back boards at the side of the net. He sent it to the slot for
Jared Cockrell to tip it to the top shelf, making it a one-goal game.
• Period 2 | 06:32 – In a similar play, the Raiders broke out of the defensive zone with
Bobby McMann flanking the boards. He centered the puck to
Tyler Penner before he evened the score at 2-2 with another top shelf tally and drew a power play in the process.
• Period 3 | 18:49 – As Colgate was awarded a penalty shot, McMann took to center ice. The senior swung wide left to the circle and came back to cross the crease and slide the puck through the five-hole for a 3-2 score.
STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
• Senior captain
Bobby McMann scored the first penalty shot for Colgate since March 9, 2012, when future NHL-er Chris Wagner scored against Quinnipiac.
• It was the first time Colgate overcame a two-goal deficit since Feb. 5, 2016, where it trailed 4-2 and came back to win 5-4 at Princeton.
• Behind his fifth multi-point night of the season, McMann improves to 13 points through the last 12 games played.
• By scoring the opening goal senior
Jared Cockrell recorded his fourth of the season. The assistant captain now holds five points though the last five games.
• With an apple on Penner's goal, freshman
Liam Watson-Brawn notched his first collegiate point.
• Scoring his third of the season was senior
Tyler Penner as he earned the tying goal.
• Another senior stepped up as
Jacob Panetta passed for the assist on the opening Colgate goal. He now holds three apples through the last five games.
• After a slow opening period, the Raiders posted a game-high of 13 shots on goal in the third for 29 on the night to outshoot Union's 19. Leading the squad was McMann with five.
• Gaining possessions in the circle, Colgate held a 31-21 edge in faceoff wins, led by McKechney's eight.
THE BOTTOM LINE
• Colgate 3, Union 2
RECORD UPDATES
• Colgate holds an 8-9-4 record, and a 6-2-1 mark in ECAC Hockey action.
• Union is 6-15-1 overall on the season and is 4-7-0 in ECAC play.
HEAD COACH DON VAUGHAN'S TAKE
On coming out for a strong second period: "Part of it is that we've only played two games over a month. We were clearly a little rusty and forgot how hard it is to play, compete and battle. We didn't win many one-on-ones in the first, but certainly turned that around for the second.
"The guys had the locker room in between, they knew. Our leadership took over and I had no doubt we were going to come out in the second and play a lot better. The quick strike was helpful, and from that point on we battled.
"One of the things I was most pleased with tonight was that although we were in our end a little more than we wanted to be, we didn't give up much. We kept a lot of the play around the perimeter and were able to clean up rebounds.
"At the end of the day, the hockey gods shined on us a little bit. We got a break on the call – it absolutely was the right call – and then Bobby didn't miss.
On the bench's mentality on the penalty shot: "Interestingly enough, the guys on the bench were prepared for if it didn't go in. Regardless of what happened, we had to finish the game. The guys were really focused doing on that for the final 1:11. We knew they were going to come with a big hard push at the end and they did. We were then again able to keep the puck to the outside. It's just a really good road win for us.
Looking forward: "RPI is playing well and they're always tough to play in that building. We'll let the guys enjoy this for a little bit, but then we'll get our eyes focused on tomorrow."
UP NEXT
Colgate continues ECAC Hockey action tomorrow evening when it takes on Rensselaer in Troy, N.Y. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. as the Raiders seek the weekend sweep.
FOLLOW THE RAIDERS
For more information on the Colgate men's hockey program, follow the Raiders on Twitter @ColgateMIH and Instagram at colgate_mih.
