HAMILTON — Reid Irwin and
Carter Gylander led the way for the Raiders in a 2-1 takedown of No. 3 Quinnipiac Friday evening at the Class of 1965 Arena.
Colgate improved to 4-4-1 in ECAC Hockey and handed the Bobcats their first conference loss of the season.
"It was a great team win, and it was awesome watching the guys that were on the ice for the last two minutes sacrificing their bodies," Irwin said. "We're not done here; we want to beat Princeton and keep the momentum going."
Irwin tallied a two-point performance, scoring the game-winning goal five minutes into the third period and also notched an assist. Gylander stopped 35 shots and held one of the top-scoring teams in the nation to one goal. He made 14 saves in the first period and 11 in the third to prevent an equalizing goal from the Bobcats.
After Quinnipiac got called for a five-minute major, Irwin put the Raiders up 2-1 with a power play goal.
Simon Labelle passed to
Tommy Bergsland, who played it to Irwin for a one-timer he slammed home from just past the blue line.
"Tommy gave me a nice pass, and their guy didn't want to block it, so I went to the goalie, and it went right through his legs. It was timely, and I'm glad we held on," Irwin added.
Quinnipiac had tied the game up at the 15:36 mark of the second with a goal from Alex Power.
Neither side could get on the board in the first period and into the start of the second.
Alex DiPaolo broke the stalemate just over halfway through the middle frame.
Nick Anderson passed to Irwin, who took a rip from the left faceoff circle that got saved. The rebound bounced perfectly to DiPaolo, and the junior finished a one time shot as he was skating in.
The Raiders' penalty kill unit held the Bobcats scoreless on the power play, shutting down one chance in the first and two in the second.
Ryan McGuire also made big contributions for the Raiders, going 12-of-18 from the faceoff circle and blocking four shots.
UP NEXT
Colgate rounds out the weekend with another ECAC Hockey matchup Saturday, welcoming Princeton to the Class of 1965 Arena for a 7 p.m. contest.
