PRINCETON, N.J. – Colgate men’s ice hockey goaltender Charlie Finn (North Vancouver, British Columbia) stood on his head Saturday night as he made a career-high 51 saves but the Princeton Tigers won game two of the series, 4-3, with 3:43 left in the first overtime period at Hobey Baker Rink.
Princeton’s Max Veronneau picked up a turnover in the neutral zone and skated into the offensive zone where he hesitated before firing the game-winning shot through traffic past Finn for the game-winning goal in the second straight overtime game of the series.
With Veronneau’s overtime game-winning goal, the Tigers tie up the best-of-three games first round series, 1-1, and force the decisive game three Sunday night at 7 p.m.
Finn was tested all game long as he made 40 saves over the final two periods plus the overtime session in one of the greatest games of his career. For the second consecutive night, Finn made multiple highlight reel saves to either maintain the Raiders’ lead or keep the game tied throughout the overtime session.
Derek Freeman (Newburyport, Massachusetts) scored two goals Saturday night for his second career two-goal game and first since Oct. 4, 2015. Freeman netted the Raiders’ first goal of the game and the goal that gave the Raiders a 3-2 lead midway through the second period.
Jared Cockrell (Byfield, Massachusetts) scored his sixth goal of the season for the Raiders while Tim Harrison (Duxbury, Massachusetts) and Anthony Sanniti (LaSalle, Quebec) each recorded assists to extend their point streaks to five games and four games, respectively.
Colgate took the early lead once again Saturday night, scoring a pair of first period goals to take a 2-0 lead. Freeman netted his first goal of the night with 7:33 left in the period. Jacob Panetta (Belleville, Ontario) picked off a Princeton pass at the red line and dodged his way into the offensive zone. His centering feed went off Anthony Sanniti’s (LaSalle, Quebec) stick and found a wide-open Freeman to tap home the goal on the back door.
Cockrell doubled the Raiders lead with 2:09 left in the first period just after the Raiders’ power play had expired. Willie Brooks (Locust, New Jersey) fired a shot from the point that was saved by Princeton goaltender Colton Phinney. Brett Corkey (Calgary, Alberta) got a stick on the puck before his stick was lifted and Cockrell was able to swipe the puck past Phinney for the goal.
The Tigers answered right back in the second period as they scored a pair of goals to tie the game, 2-2, by the midway point. Jackson Cressey scored Princeton’s first goal 3:03 into the period before Ryan Kuffner put home his 11th of the season to tie the game with 8:46 to go in the second.
Freeman netted his second goal of the game, this time on the power play, to give the Raiders a 3-2 lead two minutes after Kuffner’s tying goal. Jake Kulevich (Marblehead, Massachusetts) chased down a clear by the Tigers, circled around his own net and flung a pass up the right boards to Tim Harrison (Duxbury, Massachusetts). Harrison quickly fed a centering feed into the slot where it deflected off Bobby McMann (Wainwright, Alberta) to Freeman who tapped the puck home past Phinney for the go-ahead goal.
Colgate weathered the storm for the majority of the third period before Eric Robinson scored the extra attacker goal with less than one second remaining in regulation. Josh Teves had a shot saved by Finn, who made four saves in the final minute of regulation, before the rebound kicked to Robinson and he snuck home the game-tying goal.
BOTTOM LINE
Princeton 4, Colgate 3 (OT)
WON-LOST RECORDS
The Tigers tied up the series, 1-1, as they improve to 14-14-6 on the season and the Raiders fall to 9-21-6.
KEY RAIDER INFO
-Finn made a career-high 51 saves, setting his second career-high for saves against the Tigers this season
-Throughout the game, Finn made 16 saves in the second period, 17 in the third period and another seven in overtime
-Harrison recorded an assist to extend his point streak to five games
-He is tied with McMann for second on the team with 19 points
-Sanniti also extended a point streak with his reaching four games after netting an assist
-McMann tallied his 14th assist and 19th point of the season
-Panetta picked up his third assist of the season and five points
-Corkey had a fantastic game for the Raiders with an assist and eight blocked shots to increase his season total to 93, the second most in the country
-Brooks continued his strong late season push with an assist for his second point in three games
FACTS AND FIGURES
-Princeton outshot Colgate, 55-34, with a 36-15 advantage in the final two periods of regulation
-The Raiders netted a power-play goal to go 1 for 3 while the Tigers were 0 for 4
-Colgate blocked a season-high 32 shots, surpassing their 31 at Yale on Nov. 11 and against Union on Feb. 24
UP NEXT
Colgate and Princeton play in the deciding game three Sunday night at Hobey Baker Rink with puck drop set for 7 p.m.
