NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Juniors Mike Borkowski and Tyson Spink scored to lead Colgate to a 2-2 tie at No. 12 Yale Friday in ECAC Hockey action at Ingalls Rink.
Borkowski put the Raiders in front with his fourth goal of the season at the 3:44 mark of the second period, but Yale countered less than three minutes later with goals from John Baiocco and Rob O’Gara just 13 seconds apart to take a 2-1 lead.
The score remained in favor of Yale until the 2:47 mark of the third, when Tyson Spink scored his 13th of the season to tie the game at 2-2.
The two teams headed to overtime, where the Raiders had a pair of prime scoring opportunities to end the contest, but Yale keeper Alex Lyon kept the puck out of the net to preserve the draw.
Sophomore Charlie Finn made 23 saves in goal for Colgate while Lyon turned aside 31 shots for Yale.
Bottom Line
– Colgate 2, No. 12/12 Yale 2
Won-Lost Records
– Colgate moved to 18-11-4 on the season and 10-7-4 in ECAC Hockey action as it extended its undefeated streak to four games.
– No. 12/12 Yale saw its record shift to 16-7-5 and 11-6-4 against league
competition.
ECAC Championship Seeding Update
– With Colgate’s tie and Dartmouth’s 3-1 victory over Princeton, the Raiders and Big Green moved into a tie for fourth place in the league standings.
– Colgate controls its own destiny as a win against Brown on Saturday secures a bye for the Raiders into the quarterfinal round based on tiebreaker scenarios.
How It Happened
– After a scoreless first period, Borkowski staked the Raiders to a 1-0 lead 3:44 into the second on an unassisted effort. With the Bulldogs looking to skate the puck out of their zone, Borkowski stripped a Yale defender of the puck and fired a turn-around slap shot from the middle of the slot past Lyon and inside the left post for his fourth goal of the season.
– Yale tied the game at 1-1 less than three minutes later when John Baiocco played a loose puck from the right faceoff circle into the top of the net for his fourth goal of the season. Adam Larkin picked up the lone assist on Biaocco’s strike, which came at the 6:01 mark of the middle frame.
– O’Gara gave the Bulldogs a 2-1 lead just 13 seconds later, rifling a slap shot from the top of the right faceoff circle that Finn got a piece of, but was unable to keep it from reaching the back of the net. Cody Learned earned the only assist on the O’Gara’s go-ahead tally, his sixth goal of the season.
– Tyson Spink pulled the Raiders even at 2-2 less than three minutes into the third period. Brother Tylor found Tyson alone in the slot, where he calmly collected the puck and slid it between the legs of Lyon for his team-leading 13th goal of the season. Junior Kyle Baun earned a secondary assist on the goal, which came at the 2:47 mark of the third.
– The game headed to overtime, where the Raiders had a pair of quality scoring chances during the extra session. Lyon, however, was equal to the task both times to extend the contest.
Inside The Box Score
– Colgate out-shot Yale, 33-25, during the contest. The Raiders held the edge during the first two periods (10-9 & 16-10), but the Bulldogs posted a slim 6-5 margin in the third. Colgate tallied the only two shots registered during overtime.
– Neither team scored on the power play as both sides were 0-for-3 with the man advantage.
– Tyson Spink led all players with six shot attempts while Learned paced the Bulldogs with four.
– Colgate posted a commanding 35-22 margin at the faceoff circle. Borkowski was 13-of-19 and Tylor Spink was 12-of-21 to pace the Raiders at the dot.
‘gate One Timers
– Colgate moved to 2-6-1 against ranked competition in 2014-15.
– The Raiders saw their record shift to 15-4-1 this season when scoring first.
– Colgate moved to 1-1-4 this season in games that have gone to overtime.
– The Raiders moved to 2-8-3 this season when trailing after two periods.
– Colgate saw its record shift to 11-4-3 when tallying 30 or more shots in a contest.
– The Raiders moved to 16-2-4 when allowing two goals or fewer in a game this season.
Key Raider Info
– Tyson Spink remained in first place in the team scoring race as he notched his 27th point of the campaign with his third-period tally. Baun remained one point behind Spink in the race as he earned his 26th point of the season with a secondary assist.
– Colgate tallied just its third unassisted goal of the season as Borkowski’s second-period strike was of the unassisted variety. The goal was also Borkowski’s first since returning to the lineup from injury in early February.
– Senior Brooks Herrington played his first game on defense for the Raiders. The Bow, N.H., product had played at forward for the first 36 games of his collegiate career.
From The Source
Colgate Head Coach Don Vaughan
(on game)
“I thought we played really well. I thought it was a good game. Both teams played hard. We went with a short bench on the back end tonight. Four guys played a lot of minutes and I thought they really stepped up. We had our looks. We had some chances. I thought it was a good game.”
(On Brooks Herrington)
“I thought he played really well. He’s played a lot of defense for us in practice this year. We’ve spotted him there, but he’s just stuck with the process and worked his tail off. He’s done the extra stuff and I thought he did a good job tonight having never played in a Division I game on defense.”
(On team’s recent play)
“We’re feeling it in practice. Our energy has been good. You lose a couple of key guys out of your lineup like we have this season and it just disrupts everything. To have guys back now, especially Mike Borkowski, in our lineup is huge. We feel we’re playing much better now.”
(on Borkowski’s return)
“It’s a remarkable story. I don’t know any guys who have come back after three months with the type of injury he had. He was so driven to do it. Our trainer, Steve Chouinard, did a fantastic job with him. We’re thrilled to have him back.”
Junior Mike Borkowski
(on goal)
“It was your standard neutral-zone forecheck. I got a little bit lucky. I had a good stick and he (John Hayden) may have fumbled it, but the puck was lying there and I turned around and hit it and was lucky enough to slip by his (Alex Lyon’s) pad.”
(on return to lineup)
“I’ve said it before, getting my range of motion back has been huge. The fact that I was able to get for the Princeton-Quinnipiac series was huge. My game is slowly getting better here in terms of how much pain is there after a game. I feel like I am getting a little bit more jump back. Hopefully its trending upward and I can compete at a high level heading into the playoffs.”
(On forward lines)
“Anytime you are hit with an injury bug like we have, it throws some things off. Guys step up and play some roles they’re not normally accustomed to. The guys did a really good job. With our forward lines intact, its solidify things a little bit. It’s allowed us to build some chemistry with guys at we’re used to playing with. It’s a well-oiled machine right now.”
Up Next
– Colgate completes its regular season schedule Saturday with a 4 p.m. contest at Brown.
– The Raiders can earn a bye into the quarterfinal round of the ECAC Hockey Championship with a win against the Bears on Saturday.
