FAIRFIELD, Conn. — The Raiders scored three goals combined in the first two periods to pick up their first win, defeating Sacred Heart 3-2 on the road Friday evening.
In a game of firsts, the most notable was Head Coach
Mike Harder earning his first career victory.
"It was a great Colgate Day for our hockey programs, with both men and women winning. Our guys made plays and had fun, and I could not be happier for them. Back at it tomorrow," Harder said.
Brett Chorske netted his first goal as a Raider at the 15:09 mark to push Colgate's lead to two at 3-1. First-year
Ryan Sullivan tallied his first career point with an assist, and
Ross Mitton also earned a helper.
Sacred Heart cut it to a one-goal game at 3-2 after it fired in an extra attacker power-play goal with 1:49 remaining in the third.
The Raiders then fended off a flurry of chances when SHU pulled its goalie.
Carter Gylander came up with a big stop with two seconds remaining to seal the deal. The senior finished with 25 saves after stopping 10 shots in the second, and 11 in the third. He made five saves in 37 seconds during the final period to shut down the Pioneers.
Earlier in the third, Colgate killed off two other SHU power play chances.
The Raiders notched two goals in the middle frame, the first coming on a power play at the 10:35 mark of the second after SHU got called for interference.
Pierson Brandon made quick work of the man advantage, skating around a SHU defender and firing a shot into the top right corner. Both
Daniel Panetta and
Simon Labelle grabbed their second assists of the game from it.
The Raiders got off to a quick start, scoring a minute and eight seconds into the game.
Tommy Bergsland found the back of the net, with Panetta and Labelle picking up assists on the play.
Colgate dominated the first period, outshooting SHU 19-4, but the one goal is all it got in the opening 20 minutes. The Raiders finished with a 44-27 advantage overall.
UP NEXT
Colgate goes for a sweep of the Pioneers in Game 2 of the series at 7 p.m. Saturday.
