The Colgate men’s hockey team broke a 1-1 tie with two goals in a span of 22 seconds in the second period to send the Raiders to a 4-1 win on the road on Thursday night.
Colgate (2-1-0) got four goals from four different skaters. Mike McCann led the way with a goal and an assist to tie a career-high with two points. Mike Borkowski and Andrew Black continued their hot starts with goals, while Joe Wilson tallied his first of the year. Eric Mihalik made 16 saves in net to earn his second-straight win.
RIT (0-1-0) was led by goalie Jordan Ruby, who made 32 saves and the game could have been much worse for the home team. Ben Lynch scored the lone goal for the Tigers with assists to Nolan Descoteaux and Brad Shumway.
“Offensively, we wanted to work the boards and chip and receive and we did that tonight,” head coach Vaughan said. “We want to control the boards and be able to roll guys back as well and we did a good job of that tonight.”
The Tigers earned the first lead of the contest with a 5-on-3 power play goal. RIT worked the puck to the top of the circles and Shumway fired a shot on net that Mihalik blocked aside, but Lynch was open in the slot and hit the open net. There was nothing Mihalik could do as the puck hit Lynch’s stick on the rebound and he didn’t miss.
The special teams continued to make an impact in the first period and this time it was Colgate making it count on its side. After the top unit was robbed by Ruby a couple of times, McCann got one by the netminder to tie the contest at 1-1. The only senior forward for the Raiders just put a shot on net from the left circle and with Darcy Murphy screening in front and Ruby couldn’t pick up the puck. Brett Corkey and Ryan Johnston were given assists on the goal and for Corkey it was his first collegiate point.
The penalty-filled first period continued after McCann’s goal as Colgate had two power plays, while Goulakos sat for five minutes, while RIT earned one during the train to the penalty box. The Raiders had the advantage in shots at 16-6.
The Raiders took control of the game with two goals in a span of 22 seconds to gain a 3-1 lead. Borkowski gave Colgate its first lead of the game with a blast from the slot after a Tiger turnover in its own end. Tyson Spink collected the puck at the half boards and slid a pass to Borkowski for the goal.
Black put the Raiders up 3-1 with his second goal of his young career. Darcy Murphy shoveled the puck to Black, who wasted no time getting the puck on net. The shot came just outside the faceoff dot on the left side. Ruby had no shot as the one-timer went high glove side and Colgate had a two-goal lead.
Wilson gave the Raiders even more insurance with his first goal of the season on Colgate’s fifth chance on the power play. He collected a lose puck at the faceoff circle with his back to the goal and fired a spinning shot that surprised Ruby to give the Raiders a 4-1 win.
“I was pleased with how we played defensively, especially in the third period,” Vaughan said. “A lot of that was because we kept them 200 feet away from their net and that was a good sign for us.”
The Raiders dominated in the shot advantage by a 36-17 margin.
Colgate is on the road next weekend with a visit to Bowling Green for a two-game set beginning on Friday night. The Raiders are back at Starr Rink against St. Cloud State onOct. 25 and 26. Fans can purchase tickets by logging onto bleedcolgatemaroon.com or by calling the Colgate Ticket Office at 315-228-7600.
NOTES: Colgate has posted power play goals in all three games this season … the Raiders have won their last six games against AHA teams … Borkowski is one goal away from his goal output from a season ago … lone game against an Atlantic Hockey team this season … Last game for the Raiders at Ritter Arena as RIT is building a new rink … first Thursdaygame for Colgate since 2010 when the Raiders took on Boston College at the Ledyard Bank Classic at Dartmouth.
