PRINCETON, N.J. — Ryan McGuire's hat trick led Colgate to a 6-3 win over Princeton Friday night at Hobey Baker Rink.
The hat trick marked the first of the junior's career. Another three-point performance came from
Simon Labelle, who logged two goals and an assist.
Ross Mitton also tallied two assists.
"Solid effort from the group tonight. The ECAC is such a great league, and winning is never easy. We are quick to shift our focus to the next game versus the defending National Champion," said head coach Mike Harder following the victory.
McGuire got Colgate on the board 3:10 into the opening period. Mitton fired a shot that got saved, but Labelle jabbed the loose puck free before it slid to McGuire, who finished it home.
Less than a minute later, Labelle doubled the Raiders' lead after he took the puck the length of the ice before putting one past the Tigers' netminder.
After a Princeton power play goal,
Niko Rexine concluded the first-period scoring at the 9:49 mark with the first goal of his career.
Ben Raymond ripped one that got stopped, but Rexine cleaned it up, making it 3-1 Colgate.
Four and a half minutes into the middle frame, McGuire tallied his second of the contest. A shovel shot by
Pierson Brandon got saved, but McGuire tracked it down before burying a shot to make it 4-1.
Bobby Metz also picked up an assist.
Labelle repeated the cycle, finding the back of the net at the 13:45 mark. Tic-tac-toe passing from Mitton to
Brett Chorske led to a backdoor pass to the sophomore for his second of the night.
McGuire completed the hat trick 36 seconds into the final period. He danced by two Princeton players and then snuck a shot into the roof of the goal from a tough angle, putting the scoreboard at 6-1. The forward's dominance also came in the faceoff circle, going 14-for-22. The Raiders went 37-of-67, helping them control possession for much of the game.
Princeton attempted to make a comeback effort, scoring twice to cut the deficit in half. Jack Cronin found the back of the net just over six minutes in, followed by Mike Kennedy scoring five minutes later to make it 6-3. The Raiders held off the Tigers for the remainder of the game to secure the victory.
Colgate held a 36-29 advantage in shots after a strong start that saw the Raiders outshoot Princeton 16-9 in the first period.
Carter Gylander finished with 26 saves in goal. The senior stopped 11 shots in the final period to prevent the Tigers from getting back in the game.
UP NEXT
The Raiders take on No. 7 Quinnipiac Saturday at 7 p.m. in Hamden, Conn. The game is a rematch of last year's ECAC Hockey semifinal matchup, which Colgate won 2-1 in double overtime.
