HAMILTON – Despite a stellar final 40:00, the Colgate men's hockey program fell in a 4-3 final to St. Lawrence after the Saints' fast start.
The Raiders are back for the three-game series finale on Sunday afternoon at Class of 1965 Arena.
HOW IT HAPPENED
As the ECAC foes opened play, there was fast movement across the sheet. With nearly 12:00 expired, St. Lawrence scored with a wild bounce on a wide-angle shot on the power play, before adding a second on a breakaway. Although
Nick Anderson put a pair of pucks on net, St. Lawrence added a third tally before the end of the opening period.
Returning to the ice facing a three-goal deficit, the Raiders had some work to do. From the drop of the puck, a fresh Colgate squad make an impact early as
Elliott McDermott scored from the point just 1:01 into the period. The renewed energy fueled time in the offensive zone, created opportunities, and helped the Raiders obtain clean possession of the puck.
The efforts paid off shortly after the first as
Jeff Stewart capitalized on an out-of-position netminder to get Colgate within one. As opportunistic as it was, St. Lawrence was able to answer just 31 seconds later to regain a two-goal lead at 4-2.
The second period featured Colgate's lone power play of the game, but the 20:00 as a whole was outstanding offensively. The Raiders presence in the St. Lawrence zone generated 15 shots on goal to the Saints one.
Returning to the third period with a delayed penalty, the Raiders killed off the time and continued to battle back as they looked to close the gap in the 4-2 game. Midway through the period, quality looks by
Alex Young,
Arnaud Vachon, and
Griffin Lunn pushed St. Lawrence to call an early timeout.
The pause wouldn't stall the Colgate momentum though, as it continued to rack up minutes in the SLU zone. A late penalty call in regulation interjected the offense, but the Raiders returned to full strength and opted to pull goaltender
Andrew Farrier for the extra skater.
With an extra attacker,
Alex Young would score with just 59.1 remaining in regulation to put the Raiders within one. Returning with six skaters, Colgate battled through the final horn, but the final would stand at 4-3 in favor of the visitors after St. Lawrence's start.
COLGATE SCORING PLAYS
• Period 2 | 01:01 – As
Nick Austin entered the zone, he backhanded it to
Elliott McDermott at the left point. The first-year's quick shot found its way through traffic and beat the glove side for Colgate's opening tally.
• Period 2 | 08:17 – The puck was launched into the St. Lawrence zone, before the opposing netminder went for it along the back boards. After a dabble with the puck,
Jeff Stewart was able to pick it up outside the left post and capitalize on the out-of-position goaltender.
• Period 3 | 19:02 – After winning the faceoff, the puck was sent to Austin at the blue line. He fed it down low in the corner to
Ross Mitton, before he found an open
Alex Young at the hashmarks. Young's quick wrister beat the netminder to put Colgate within one.
STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
• In addition to garnering multi-point nights, senior
Nick Austin and
Alex Young each begin two-game point streaks.
• With an unassisted tally, junior
Jeff Stewart recorded his first of the season. Stewart was also outstanding in the circle as he won six of his seven faceoffs on the night.
• First-year
Elliott McDermott notched his second goal in the last five games with Colgate's opening tally.
• With a team-high of six shots on goal, sophomore
Matt Verboon tied his career-best from Dec. 23 against Clarkson.
• An outstanding offensive performance, the Raiders outshot St. Lawrence by a 15-1 margin in the second stanza. On the night, Colgate held a 31-17 edge in shots on goal.
• Ultimately, the Raiders held a 60.7 faceoff win percentage on the night. Senior
Josh McKechney posted 13 wins on his 20 attempts for a 65.0 win percentage.
• The newest member of the century club, defenseman
Nick Austin laced up for his 100th career game.
THE BOTTOM LINE
• St. Lawrence 4, Colgate 3
RECORD UPDATES
• Colgate holds a 3-6-3 record, and a 2-5-3 mark in ECAC Hockey action.
• St. Lawrence is 4-3-2 overall on the season and is 4-3-2 in ECAC play.
UP NEXT
Colgate rounds out the three-game series and regular season matchups against St. Lawrence on Sunday. Puck drop is set for 4 p.m. at Class of 1965 Arena.
FOLLOW THE RAIDERS
For more information on the Colgate men's hockey program, follow the Raiders on Twitter @ColgateMIH and Instagram at colgate_mih.
