NEW HAVEN, Conn. – It all came down to the last minute of regulation, as the Colgate men's hockey program looked to make a comeback at Yale. Despite their late push, the Raiders fell in a 4-2 final in their final road game of the regular season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
It was a quick start as Yale scored off the draw with a wrist shot to the glove side just five minutes in. Shortly thereafter, the Raiders faced the first penalty kill of the night but after the return of their skater, they looked to chip their way back into the game.
After a pair of Colgate chances being sent high out of play by the Bulldog blocker, Raider goaltender
Andrew Farrier was forced to make a big save through traffic in the final minutes of the period to keep it a one-goal game.
Carrying over a short session of penalty time to the second, the Raiders first opened with a quick kill. Seconds after returning to full strength,
Ben Sharf sent the puck through the five hole to tie the game just over a minute after the drop of the puck.
Quick to answer, Yale regained the lead with a glove side attack minutes later to make it a 2-1 game. Although the Raiders saw a 2-on-1 chance midway through regulation, the puck was pushed wide. Sharf attempted another shot at the edge of the crease in the final minutes, fueling pressure down low. Tying up the defenders,
Josh McKechney was robbed with a glove save as the Raiders chipped away in the paint through the horn of the second.
Returning to the ice with similar energy, Sharf went right up the ice after winning the faceoff. Colgate continued to hammer the Bulldog zone through the first 5:00 almost as if it had the man advantage.
As streaky play shifted across the sheet, Farrier made several stops to keep it a one-goal game. Even though Colgate pressured back with shot after shot in a flurry of offense, blocked pucks kept the score at 2-1.
The momentum shift came when Yale rang the pipe then cleaned up the rebound from the doorstep to gain a 3-1 advantage with just 4:40 remaining in regulation, followed by an empty net goal.
When granted another late power play, the Raiders opted for the extra attacker for a 6-on-4 advantage with 1:40 remaining in regulation. It was with that extra skater that Colgate was able to score as
Arnaud Vachon put away the rebound.
The Raiders returned to the ice with a continued empty net, but the clock would expire before they could cut back with any more goals, settling for a 4-2 final on the road.
COLGATE SCORING PLAYS
• Period 2 | 01:12 – In a battle along the boards,
Bobby McMann picked the puck off of a Bulldog and crossed it to
Ben Sharf in the left faceoff circle. Sharf sent the puck through the five-hole to even the slate at 1-1.
• Period 3 | 18:42 – While on the man advantage, McMann swung the puck around the zone before firing off a shot in the slot. After
Colton Young attempted to put away the rebound, it was
Arnaud Vachon at the edge of the crease who put it away to narrow the score to 4-2.
STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
• Beginning a two-game point streak, senior
Ben Sharf recorded his ninth goal of the season. He also tied his career-high of six shots on goal for the second consecutive night.
• By marking the lone assist on Sharf's tally, senior
Bobby McMann recorded his 90th career point. The captain added a second to improve to 91 for his seventh multi-point game of the season.
• Freshman
Arnaud Vachon posted his fifth goal of the season and first since at Dartmouth (Dec. 6, 2019).
• By adding an assist on Vachon's goal, fellow freshman
Colton Young now holds three points in the last three games.
• On his way to earning 21 saves, sophomore goaltender
Andrew Farrier tallied a game-high of nine stops in the opening period of play.
• The Raiders held their opponent scoreless on the power play for the 13th time this season as Yale went 0-for-3 with the man advantage.
• Colgate held a 35-25 advantage in shots on goal, including a dominant 15-5 edge in the second period.
THE BOTTOM LINE
• Yale 4, Colgate 2
RECORD UPDATES
• Colgate holds a 10-16-6 record, and an 8-9-3 mark in ECAC Hockey action.
• Yale is 12-13-2 overall on the season and is 9-9-2 in ECAC play.
HEAD COACH DON VAUGHAN'S TAKE
"As disappointed with our effort as I was last night, I was really pleased with it tonight. I thought we deserved a little more than what we got - it was just a really bad bounce on the third goal unfortunately. We just didn't get a lot of those breaks at the net.
"I was happy with how we played and with how we worked. You're never satisfied with a loss, but it was a good response. If we play that way good things are eventually going to happen. We're still battling it out for home ice in the ECAC First Round and they say the most important game is the next one.
"We just didn't get a bounce, we had a couple of really close ones in the second period. The guys were bought in tonight and we just need more of that."
Thoughts heading into the final regular season series: "We've got to play more like we did tonight. It helps to score first, otherwise you're chasing the game a bit and have more pressure on yourself. It would be great to get a lead with the first goal and go from there.
UP NEXT
The Raiders round out the regular season next weekend as they host Clarkson and St. Lawrence. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. both Friday, Feb. 28 and Saturday, Feb. 29, while the regular season finale serves as Senior Night.
Colgate honors the program's eight graduating seniors pregame on Saturday before the St. Lawrence matchup.
FOLLOW THE RAIDERS
For more information on the Colgate men's hockey program, follow the Raiders on Twitter @ColgateMIH and Instagram at colgate_mih.
