PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Colgate men's hockey program fell short on Friday evening as Brown skated away with a 3-1 win on its home ice. The Raiders were able to generate late chances through power plays, including a tally by
Paul McAvoy, but were unable to overcome the two-goal deficit in conference action.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The pair of conference foes played through 6:20 of hockey before the need for a whistle. Throughout the fast-paced streaks up the sheet,
Ben Sharf earned a quick look in the opening minutes but it was stopped with a sliding pad save. Shortly thereafter
Liam Watson-Brawn sent a pipe ringer from the right point, which was followed up by a wide-angle peek at the five-hole by
Arnaud Vachon.
Physical play scattered the game midway through the period with big hits along the boards, before the Raiders closed out the session with a strong penalty kill late in the session to keep it at a scoreless game after 20:00.
After returning its man, the Raiders opened the second period with another early penalty kill just 33 seconds in. It was then that Brown began to generate its offensive opportunities. As
Ross Craig made a major stop in a Brown 2-on-1, the puck was sent back in an attempt to clear it out of the zone. It was intercepted by a Bear at the blueline and sailed through traffic to make it a 1-0 game.
Colgate went on to see back-to-back power play opportunities midway through regulation, but Brown scored on another 2-on-1 chance for a shorthanded tally that made it 2-0. While on the same man advantage, the Raiders were able to quickly answer and chip back at the deficit as
Paul McAvoy cut it to a one-goal game by converting on a play at the crease.
Returning for the third period,
Josh McKechney attempted to even the score with a backhanded look in the opening minutes, but it too was stopped. The Raiders drew back-to-back power play opportunities where drives were fueled by
Bobby McMann.
As chances were sent wide and high, Brown went on to burn off the two consecutive penalties. When returning its skater, Brown rallied ahead with another odd man rush to the net where it increased the lead to 3-1.
After pulling the goalie with 2:04 remaining in regulation, Colgate stormed the Bears' zone including a one-timer from the blue line by
Trevor Cosgrove. Even after calling a timeout, the Raiders returned to the ice with continuous pressure at the net but battles at the crease were held off through the horn, sounding Brown's 3-1 final.
COLGATE SCORING PLAY
• Period 2 | 12:01 – While on the man advantage,
Trevor Cosgrove sent the puck along the blue line to
Ben Sharf at the right point. The senior made a hard drive at the net from the right point and while it was initially stopped,
Paul McAvoy was ready at the edge of the paint for the finish below the pads of the netminder to cut it to a one-goal game.
STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
• By scoring Colgate's lone goal, junior
Paul McAvoy recorded his ninth of the season and now holds two points in the last three games.
• With the assist on McAvoy's tally, senior
Ben Sharf earned his fourth point in the last five games. In addition to his apple, Sharf tied his career-high of six shots on goal (Jan. 5, 2019 at Princeton).
• Also picking up a point was junior
Trevor Cosgrove with his ninth assist of the season.
• Between the pipes, sophomore netminder
Andrew Farrier posted 26 saves, including a game-high of 11 in the second period.
• The Raiders went 1-for-5 on the power play, generating nine shots on goal. The mark is just one chance shy of the squad's season-best of 10.
• Colgate also held its opponent scoreless on the power play for the 12th time this season as Brown went 0-for-4 with the man advantage.
• Gaining possession, the Raiders held a 28-23 edge in the faceoff circle. The team was led by Sharf going a perfect 7-for-7 on faceoff attempts.
THE BOTTOM LINE
• Brown 3, Colgate 1
RECORD UPDATES
• Colgate holds a 10-15-6 record, and an 8-8-3 mark in ECAC Hockey action.
• Brown is 7-17-2 overall on the season and is 7-10-2 in ECAC play.
HEAD COACH DON VAUGHAN'S TAKE
"It's another Friday night and another lackluster effort. I need to find a better way to get them prepared to play. I thought we were in a good spot with this one and the guys were feeling good, but we just didn't have it tonight for some reason. Some of our best players were not our best players.
"We had some guys working, but just couldn't get any momentum. We'd have a good shift, then three bad ones and our power play unfortunately couldn't bail us out when we had opportunities late in the game.
"We've got to get back to work. We pride ourselves on our work ethic and effort and we just didn't have enough of that tonight."
UP NEXT
Colgate continues ECAC Hockey action on the road tomorrow as it travels to face Yale. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. in New Haven, Conn.
FOLLOW THE RAIDERS
For more information on the Colgate men's hockey program, follow the Raiders on Twitter @ColgateMIH and Instagram at colgate_mih.
