CANTON, N.Y. – For the second time in the last six games the Colgate men's hockey program scored a shorthanded goal, but would ultimately settled for a 1-1 tie at St. Lawrence.
Despite
Josh McKechney's notable tally, the 65:00 of action wasn't enough to decide a winner in the ECAC hockey matchup. Although Colgate tallied goals by McKechney and
Matt Verboon in the shootout, the Saints would claim the extra ECAC point in the fifth round.
After playing three games in the last four days, the Raiders will now take a break until next weekend's home-and-home series against Quinnipiac from Jan. 15-17.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Raiders opened with strong play as they looked to make an impact early. Flying across the sheet,
Paul McAvoy had an early chance where he sped end-to-end just before the Raiders drew a 5-on-3 power play advantage midway through the period. Generate chances as it did, the Saints would return their men before Colgate could find the twine.
After a late penalty call on
Griffin Lunn, the Raiders returned for the second period facing 1:04 remaining of their penalty kill. Although that kill was successful, midway through regulation Colgate faced another. With just four seconds remaining in the man advantage, St. Lawrence scored to gain a 1-0 lead, an edge that would stand through the second period.
As the clock ticked down on the session,
Carter Gylander was forced to make several key saves to keep it a one-goal game, however the momentum began to shift back in favor of the Raiders after a few minutes of play in the third.
After a power play generated chances early, Colgate flipped to skating a man down. It was then that
Josh McKechney would score Colgate's second shorthanded goal of the season to tie the game midway through the period.
Even though Colgate seemed to be getting the better of the looks, St. Lawrence was able to poke the puck in the net again in the third. It was ultimately called off for goaltender interference, a call that would reinforce Colgate's drive to find that go-ahead goal.
In the final minute, the Raiders made a huge push to end it in regulation but went on to ultimately face their fourth overtime game in the season's eight games. While in the three-on-three overtime,
Colton Young picked off a puck in the Raider zone before taking it all the way down for a shot. It stood as the best scoring chance in overtime by either team, but the paddle save kept the teams playing.
After
Nick Anderson sped down the sheet for a look in the final seconds, the horn sounded on the 1-1 overtime tie. The ice was then cleared to prepare for Colgate's second shootout of the season. While battling to pick up the extra point,
Matt Verboon opened with a goal followed by a score by
Josh McKechney, however St. Lawrence would win the shootout after the fifth round.
COLGATE SCORING PLAY
• Period 3 | 4:43 – After winning a faceoff in the Colgate zone,
Arnaud Vachon took the puck to neutral ice. When entering St. Lawrence territory, he centered the puck to
Nick Anderson, who tapped it to
Josh McKechney. McKechney capitalized on an out-of-position goaltender to score shorthanded to tie the game at 1-1.
STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
• Senior
Josh McKechney recorded his first of the year by scoring Colgate's second shorthanded tally of the season. It marks his first goal since scoring in the 3-2 overtime win against Brown in the ECAC First Round (March 7, 2020).
• The last time Colgate earned two shorthanded goals in a season was in the 2016-17 campaign's 37 games.
• McKechney becomes the 12th Raider to score this season.
• With an assist on McKechney's shorty, sophomore
Arnaud Vachon extends to a three-game point streak in which he's generated one goal and two assists.
• Earning his second apple of the year was first-year
Nick Anderson. He now holds three points on the year by one goal and three assists.
• The Raiders outshot St. Lawrence by a 31-27 margin behind a game-high of 11 shots on goal in the opening period.
• Consistent with eight saves a period, plus two in the overtime for 26 on the night, was first-year netminder
Carter Gylander.
• After their three games in four days, Colgate and St. Lawrence went 1-1-1 in the series.
THE BOTTOM LINE
• Colgate 1, St. Lawrence 1 – SLU Shootout Win
RECORD UPDATES
• Colgate holds a 2-3-3 record, and a 1-2-2 mark in ECAC Hockey action.
• St. Lawrence is 2-1-2 overall on the season and is 2-1-2 in ECAC Hockey play.
UP NEXT
The Raiders continue ECAC Hockey action next weekend in a home-and-home series against Quinnipiac. The series opens on Friday, Jan. 15 in a 5 p.m. puck drop at Class of 1965 Arena, before wrapping up in Hamden, Conn. on Sunday, Jan. 17 at 4 p.m.
FOLLOW THE RAIDERS
For more information on the Colgate men's hockey program, follow the Raiders on Twitter @ColgateMIH and Instagram at colgate_mih.
