HAMILTON – Although the game featured outstanding saves and a strong penalty kill, the Colgate men's hockey program fell in a 3-0 final to No. 11 Quinnipiac on Friday night.
The teams will head to Hamden, Conn. for the home-and-home series finale on Sunday, Jan. 17.
HOW IT HAPPENED
It was a fast start in which the ECAC foes skated for the first 6:12 straight without a whistle. Midway through the period, the Raiders spent a bit more time on defense in which
Carter Gylander was steadfast in the crease. It wasn't until 7:12 remaining in the period that Quinnipiac was able to score with a screen to beat the glove side to gain a 1-0 lead.
While the final minutes saw an outstanding scoring chance by
Paul McAvoy as he broke out in an odd man rush, the Raiders went to the locker room facing a one-goal deficit.
The second period opened with a solid backhanded chance by
Griffin Lunn in the opening minute as the Raiders looked to even the score. There were a few pipe ringers on either end before the first power play of the game went to the Raiders and although Colgate strung together a couple of solid minutes of offense that included shots by
Arnaud Vachon and
Trevor Cosgrove, the teams played on in a one-goal game.
A pass in by
Elliott McDermott and a low shot by
Tyler Jeanson in the final minutes added another opportunity, but it all came down to the final 20:00.
Quinnipiac came out hard and fast for the third period, forcing the Raiders to play a bit more defense in the opening minutes. Midway through, Colgate faced its first and only penalty kill of the night which led to a stellar kill for the Raiders.
With just 6:50 to go in regulation,
Carter Gylander made an outstanding save in which his east-to-west stretch stopped the puck with a glove save. The play put some life into a Colgate squad looking to battle back before the horn.
Shortly thereafter, there was a tough break for the Raiders as Quinnipiac looked to stall the clock by holding the puck behind the net. Breaking out, the Bobcats were able to take it down the sheet and sneak the puck under the pad for a 2-0 lead with just 4:04 remaining in regulation.
The Raiders then opted to pull Gylander for the extra attacker with 1:07 on the clock. When Quinnipiac was able to enter the Colgate zone, the Raiders were able to block their initial attempt at the net, but the Bobcats would cap the scoring with an empty-netter with just 3.8 on the clock for the 3-0 final.
STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
• Sophomore
Colton Young led the squad with four shots on goal.
• Defensively, sophomore
Arnaud Vachon topped the team with three blocked shots.
• Between the pipes, first-year netminder
Carter Gylander recorded 20 saves, including a game-high of nine in the third period, with just two goals against.
• Colgate held its opponent scoreless on the power play for the fourth time this season as Quinnipiac went 0-for-1 with the man advantage.
• Outstanding in the faceoff circle was senior captain
Paul McAvoy as he won 10 of his 14 faceoffs for a 71.4 win percentage.
THE BOTTOM LINE
• No. 11 Quinnipiac 3, Colgate 0
RECORD UPDATES
• Colgate holds a 2-4-3 record, and a 1-3-3 mark in ECAC Hockey action.
• No. 11 Quinnipiac is 9-4-1 overall on the season and is 3-2-1 in ECAC play.
UP NEXT
The Raiders round out the series against No. 11 Quinnipiac with a 4 p.m. puck drop on Sunday, Jan. 17 in Hamden, 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.
