ITHACA, N.Y. – The Colgate men's hockey program had a strong second half finish at No. 2 Cornell on Sunday afternoon, but fell in a 5-3 final after the Big Red's opening period performance.
Although they were outshot in the opening period, the Raiders responded by outshooting the home team 22-15 through the final 40:00 and produced two power play goals.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Route 13 Rivalry opened with fast-paced play across the sheet, that included a strong offensive drive by the Raider offense. After its attempts were blocked by the Cornell traffic, the first special team test of the afternoon was Colgate's penalty kill.
The Raiders earned a successful kill and quickly saw a fleeting chance by
John Snodgrass, but on the next Big Red drive, the home team picked up a bounce off the back boards to score on the near side for a 1-0 advantage midway through the period. Just a minute later, Cornell struck fast with a shot through traffic for a 2-0 edge.
There were a couple of quick breaks down the ice by
Tyler Penner and
Jared Cockrell, but they continued to be broken up by the defense at the last second. It was still the momentum the Raiders needed though, as a power play generated chance after chance.
The return came as
Bobby McMann scored on a similar play to his power play tally on Saturday to make it a one goal game, however the Big Red quickly answered with a pair to build a 4-1 lead in the final minutes of the opening period.
When the teams returned to the ice for the second period, the game featured much more neutral zone action as Colgate pressured back. Cornell's netminder made a standout snatch with the glove to deny the Raiders a second goal, but it continued to be a much more fluid period than the first. Although the Raiders saw another power play with quality chances, Cornell continued to hold off the Raiders through the end of the session.
Entering the third, Colgate carried over 1:47 of power play action, but after it expired it faced back-to-back penalty kills when it became physical. Cornell was able to score with a trickling puck through traffic late in the man advantage for a 5-1 edge.
However on Colgate's next power play opportunity,
Ben Sharf finally cashed in on the man advantage to reenergize Colgate's scoring. When the Raiders quickly returned to the man advantage, they were able to capitalize yet again when they pulled the goalie for a 6-on-4 edge. Although they were able to get back with two in the third period, the clock would expire before the Raiders could tie things up, settling for a 5-3 final.
COLGATE SCORING PLAYS
• Period 1 | 16:35 – Just as Cornell was returning its skater
Anthony Stark fed the puck from the blue line to
Ben Sharf at the left circle. Sharf sent a streamlined pass across the zone to
Bobby McMann at the right faceoff dot and after waiting for the opening, McMann sighted the puck to the blocker side and found the twine to make it a 1-2 game.
• Period 3 | 13:44 – McMann cut across the zone before passing off the
Matt Verboon along the left wall. McMann then picked the puck back up at the point and dribbled before sending it through traffic and
Ben Sharf tipped it low for a five-hole goal on the man advantage.
• Period 3 | 18:40 – While on the power play and with the extra skater, Sharf fed the puck across the blue line to Verboon. Spotting
Josh McKechney down low, the puck was fed to the crease and McKechney redirected it through the back door to make it a two-goal game.
STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
• Now on a two-game scoring streak, senior captain
Bobby McMann recorded his team-leading ninth goal of the season and team-leading 17th point of the year.
• Earning his first power play tally in his career was senior
Ben Sharf. With eight goals on the year, Sharf begins a two-game point streak with assists in both games against Cornell.
• Recording his second goal of the year was junior
Josh McKechney. It marks his first since the season opener against RIT (Oct. 5, 2019).
• Freshman
Matt Verboon is the first Raider this season to have a three-point night as he earned a trio of assists on Colgate's three goals.
• Sharf and McMann both joined Verboon in earning a multi-point night, each with one goal and one assist. It marked McMann's 23rd multi-point night in his career.
• After getting outshot 11-3 in the opening period, the Raiders responded by outshooting Cornell by a combined 22-15 edge in the second and third periods.
• By going 2-for-5 on the power play tonight, Colgate holds five goals with the man advantage in the last four games.
THE BOTTOM LINE
• No. 2 Cornell 5, Colgate 3
RECORD UPDATES
• Colgate holds a 9-13-6 record, and a 7-6-3 mark in ECAC Hockey action.
• No. 2 Cornell is 17-2-4 overall on the season and is 12-2-2 in ECAC Hockey play.
HEAD COACH DON VAUGHAN'S TAKE
"The first period was obviously the difference, but I was really proud with how we responded, especially in this building. I think our young guys played well in a tough building. Things could have really gotten out of hand here after giving up that first period, but our guys responded.
"I asked our guys to push back and I'm proud of the fact that we did that. We came up short tonight, but we know the team that played in the second and third period is in that locker room and that is the team that needs to finish the season."
UP NEXT
The Raiders return home next weekend as they welcome Rensselaer and Union to Class of 1965 Arena. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. both Friday, Feb. 14 and Saturday, Feb. 15 for the ECAC Hockey matchups.
FOLLOW THE RAIDERS
For more information on the Colgate men's hockey program, follow the Raiders on Twitter @ColgateMIH and Instagram at colgate_mih.
