HAMILTON — Colgate and UConn played to a 3-3 tie Sunday afternoon at the Class of 1965 Arena.
The Huskies battled back in the third period to tie the score at 3-3 and send it into overtime.
"There is no growth without adversity. We will learn from this and move forward as a team learning to win," said head coach Mike Harder.
The Raiders had a pair of multi-point performances.
Nic Belpedio tallied two goals and
Ross Mitton notched three points with a goal and two assists.
UConn got a quick start when John Spetz scored 44 seconds into the game . Belpedio answered back with his first goal at the 6:18 mark, putting one in on a power play after the Huskies got called for interference. Mitton passed to
Sebastian Tamburro whose shot got saved, but the rebound bounced to Belpedio, and he finished it on a low backhand shot.
The Raiders scored twice in the second period to take a 3-1 lead. Two and a half minutes in, Mitton intercepted a UConn pass and got free on a breakaway, taking it the length of the ice before deking out the goalie and flipping a backhand shot into the net.
With 4:24 left in the middle frame, Belpedio notched his second goal to push Colgate's lead to two.
Robby Newton flicked a pass ahead to Mitton to start a transition. The senior found Belpedio trailing, and he slung a wrister past the Huskies' goalie. Newton's helper marked his first point in the maroon and white.
Connecticut fought back with a pair of goals in the final period. Matthew Wood found the back of the net at the 12:03 mark to cut the lead to one at 3-2. With 1:55 remaining, Wood played a long diagonal pass down the ice to Jake Richard, who slammed a slap shot back to knot the score up.
In the extra period, Colgate had a few scoring opportunities that it could not capitalize on. Just 15 seconds in,
Ben Raymond had a one-on-one chance in front of the goal, but his shot got saved.
Pierson Brandon and
Ryan McGuire also put shots wide of the net. With nine seconds left, Raymond played a backdoor pass to
Nick Anderson, who had a good look, but he got denied on a diving save by the Huskies' netminder.
The contest then advanced to a shootout that UConn took 2-0.
Carter Gylander finished with 27 saves in net for the Raiders. He made two stops in overtime to prevent the Huskies from taking the win.
UP NEXT
Colgate hits the road for the first time next weekend, heading to Sacred Heart. The Raiders will square off against the Pioneers at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
