HAMILTON – Early scoring by the Colgate men's hockey program was answered by No. 16 Harvard late in the game to force overtime on Friday night at Class of 1965 Arena. The ECAC Hockey foes would skate to a 3-3 draw despite the extra session, earning the Raiders three of four points in conference play against its nationally ranked opponent.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
Colgate came out with a fast start, peppering chances in the opening minutes. The early pressure paid off as
Jacob Panetta got the Raiders on the board just 3:02 after the drop of the puck. Looking to increase their lead the Raiders pulled out all the tricks, including a picked off turnover in the slot by
Ben Sharf and a long pass down the sheet for a breakaway by
John Snodgrass, but it remained just a one-goal game.
It was as the Raiders faced the strongest power play in the country when things were evened. As Colgate was on its first penalty kill, Harvard was able to score on the near side with the man advantage to make the game 1-1. Colgate didn't let up the pressure though, putting up 17 shots on goal right through the horn of the first.
It continued to be a fast-paced game through the start of the second period with swift play across the sheet. It was midway through regulation when
Griffin Lunn picked up a rebound out front for a 2-1 lead, which headed into a quality kill which included a shorthanded breakaway opportunity for
Bobby McMann. Colgate quickly went back on the penalty kill, and Harvard was ready to strike again.
The Crimson scored with the extra skater yet again in the final minute of play, but more was yet to come. Colgate would respond before the horn as
John Snodgrass scored only 14 ticks later to continue to carry a 3-2 lead into the third.
As the Crimson battled back netminder
Andrew Farrier made big stops in the paint in the third period, but it was as a long rebound popped out that Harvard was able to score with a quick wrister midway through regulation to tie things up yet again. In a thrilling period of play, Harvard found the twine minutes later but it was deemed illegal and the Raiders were awarded a power play opportunity for the goalie interference.
Determined to showcase its flaring offense, with was with under five minutes to play when
Jared Cockrell had a quick shot at the net, but a diving glove save would smother the Raiders hopes. It would be the final quality chance for Colgate prior to the horn sounding the end of regulation.
As the teams entered overtime, Harvard had a quick draw prompting a Colgate timeout. As the Raiders collected more chances, including a quick poke in the paint by Snodgrass, Harvard opted to use their own to regroup. Ultimately, the flurry of chances in the extra session were unable to get past either netminder leading to a 3-3 tie.
COLGATE SCORING PLAYS
• Period 1 | 03:02 – As
Paul McAvoy squared up for the faceoff, he won possession of the puck and dropped it back to
Tyler Jeanson. The winger then spun it up to
Jacob Panetta at the point and his fire found its way through traffic for a dinger in and a 1-0 lead.
• Period 2 | 09:07 – Entering the zone,
Griffin Lunn passed off the puck to
Paul McAvoy at the faceoff circle. As McAvoy took the long shot and even though it was stopped in the paint, Lunn swooped in and poked the puck past the pads for a 2-1 advantage.
• Period 2 | 19:44 – As the Harvard goalie looked to clear the puck from the zone,
Ross Craig snagged the bounce off the boards at the blue line. He shot it on goal before
John Snodgrass capitalized on the rebound at the top of the crease and scored low for a 3-2 advantage late in the period.
STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
• Tallying his fourth of the season was senior
John Snodgrass. On one of his three shots on goal, Snodgrass earned his first goal since a three-game scoring streak from Nov. 23-Nov. 30.
• Getting the scoring started was senior
Jacob Panetta, who his second of the season, first since scoring at Providence (Nov. 1). The defenseman now holds four points in the last seven games.
• Freshman
Griffin Lunn scored his second of the season, making it his second goal in his last four games played.
• Earning his third multi-point night of the season behind a pair of assists was junior
Paul McAvoy.
• At the blue line, senior defenseman
Paul Meyer recorded six shots on goal. The mark is a season-high and his most opportunities since tallying eight Oct. 28, 2017 at Arizona State.
• In goal sophomore netminder
Andrew Farrier posted 32 saves, including a game-high of 12 in the opening period and three stops in overtime. It is the Montreal native's fourth time surpassing 30 saves this season.
• Colgate's 42 shots on goal is just one shy of its season-high of 43 at Brown (Nov. 9).
THE BOTTOM LINE
• Colgate 3, No. 16 Harvard 3
RECORD UPDATES
• Colgate holds an 8-10-5 record, and a 6-3-2 mark in ECAC Hockey action.
• No. 16 Harvard is 9-6-3 overall on the season and is 7-4-2 in ECAC play.
COACH VAUGHAN'S TAKE
"It's always important to score first. It allows you to play a little differently, without chasing the game so much. Obviously their power play is deadly, but to answer so quickly was a huge goal for us. Harvard is a good team, they are a ranked team. I think the point we earned tonight could be a big one before the year is over.
"We know what Harvard is capable of, but it's a process. I think our young guys played like young guys. As we get deeper in the season, it becomes a sprint now. They are still playing well and playing critical minutes for us. But special teams was the difference tonight, but I'm still pleased with how we played.
"Jared [Cockrell] really had the game on his stick there with minutes to go and their goalie made an unbelievable stop. We're creating, and we're doing a lot of things we want to do. Special teams continues to be a little bit of an issue for us, but we just need to keep working on it.
"Tomorrow in facing Dartmouth we see a team we have a lot of history with, and a team we face a lot in the playoffs. They'll be hunting for a little payback after our game up there this year. We've got to regroup and we're a little banged up right now, but we'll definitely have to be ready to go tomorrow for another tough one."
UP NEXT
Colgate continues ECAC Hockey action tomorrow, Jan. 24, as it hosts No. 20 Dartmouth. Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m. at Class of 1965 Arena in the hockey double-header.
FOLLOW THE RAIDERS
For more information on the Colgate men's hockey program, follow the Raiders on Twitter @ColgateMIH and Instagram at colgate_mih.
