TROY, N.Y. – Despite an onslaught of offense brought by the Colgate men's hockey program on Saturday evening, Rensselaer was able to hold the Raiders off in a 3-0 decision in ECAC Hockey action.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Colgate opened with an early 2-on-1 scoring chance as the puck was taken up the ice by Ben Sharf in the opening minutes. It would be one of the top scoring chances for the Raiders in the opening period, but Colgate couldn't come across a score that easily on Rensselaer's Owen Savory.  
 
The first special team to be tested was the Raider penalty kill midway through the period. Just as all six shorthanded shifts would be on the night, the penalty kill crew gave up minimal chances in the Raider zone as the defensemen dumped the puck for quick clears. In a physical game with lot of action along the boards, Colgate quickly returned to the kill, but burned it just the same.
 
It was in the final minutes of the first that RPI was able to beat the netminder on the top glove side for a 1-0 advantage. With a similar tally to the top shelf just 1:24 later, the home team would carry a 2-0 advantage into the second.
 
In a slow start to the period, Colgate created a choppy game as it brought the pressure to the RPI zone and the Engineers looked to clear it down the sheet. As the Raiders continued to create chances through traffic and between skates, Bobby McMann was hooked down in the slot before poking the puck to Craig at the blue line. He crossed it down low to Tyler Penner for a quick shot on the near side, but it was again gloved down in the process of drawing Colgate's first power play of the night.
 
Shortly after RPI returned to full strength, it was time for Colgate to present another successful kill. Just as Paul McAvoy returned to the ice, he sped north for a breakaway out of the box, but the blocker sent it wide to keep Colgate off the board yet again.  
 
Just after another scrappy chance for Colgate, RPI returned with a streak down the sheet on a 2-on-1 to score its third of the night. Although it was another strong period for the Raiders, they had nothing to show for it on the board as they produced 18 shots on goal in the middle stanza.
 
After an offensive start, Colgate drew its second power play of the night it looked to make some magic happen. It was another strong man advantage as the Raiders spent almost the entirety of the 2:00 in the Engineer zone that again didn't return. Shot after shot was stifled, sent high, or loomed in the crease as the Raiders continued to pressure the zone.
 
After the man advantage continued to sway between the teams, Colgate pulled its goaltender with 3:23 remaining in regulation, before another penalty kill in the final minutes swindled the time away.
 
With under a minute to work with at full strength, Colgate would make a final drive to the net. There was a shot from the point fired by Trevor Cosgrove, but the horn would sound before the Raiders could come back in the 3-0 decision.
 
STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
• The Raiders went 6-for-6 on the penalty kill, making it the ninth time this season they have held their opponent scoreless with the man advantage.
• Colgate's strongest period came in the second with 18 shots on goal as it eventually held a 10-shot edge in shots on goal.
• Attempts at the net were led by senior Ben Sharf as he tallied a season-high of five on goal.
• Other chances came by four apiece from freshmen Anthony Stark and Matt Verbooon, along with junior Tyler Jeanson.
• Ultimately, 14 of Colgate's 19 skaters tallied shots on goal.
• Defensively, Stark also topped the team with junior Trevor Cosgrove with two blocked shots each.
• In goal, sophomore netminder Andrew Farrier posted 24 saves, including a game-high of nine in the opening period.
• On the night, Rensselaer's sophomore goaltender Owen Savory recorded a 37-save shutout against the Raiders.
 
THE BOTTOM LINE
• Rensselaer 3, Colgate 0
 
RECORD UPDATES
• Colgate holds an 8-10-4 record, and a 6-3-1 mark in ECAC Hockey action.
• Rensselaer is 9-11-1 overall on the season and is 6-6-1 in ECAC play.
 
COACH VAUGHAN'S TAKE
"It's a funny game. We were a little flat out of the gate again, but I really liked the way we battled back in the second and third. Rensselaer's goalie played great, made a lot of good stops and I thought we generated some really good looks, but that's hockey. I wasn't disappointed with our effort at all. Some nights you just run into a hot goalie and that's what happened tonight.
 
"The penalty kill was great, [assistant coach] Brett Riley has done a great job with that. Clearly the elephant in the room is our power play – we have to fix it and find a way to be better on the power play. That's something we've got two weeks to figure out, and that's going to be priority number one."
 
UP NEXT
After its bye week, the Colgate hockey program returns to Class of 1965 Arena on Jan. 24-25 after a two-month road stint. The Raiders continue ECAC Hockey action by hosting Harvard and Dartmouth.
 
FOLLOW THE RAIDERS
For more information on the Colgate men's hockey program, follow the Raiders on Twitter @ColgateMIH and Instagram at colgate_mih.