Fourth-ranked Colgate scored three times in the third period to break a 2-all tie and defeat Sacred Heart, 5-2, in collegiate men’s ice hockey action Friday at Milford Ice Pavilion
Sophomore Tim Harrison’s first collegiate tally proved to be the difference as his re-direction of a Spiro Goulakos slapshot at the 3:39 mark of the third period broke the 2-2 deadlock and allowed the Raiders to pull away from the upset-minded Pioneers.
Goulakos finished with three assists in the contest to lead a Colgate power play that finished the night 3-for-5 with the man advantage. Junior Kyle Baun also notched three points on a goal and two assists while Harrison finished with a goal and an assist.
Sophomore Charlie Finn recorded 20 saves in goal for Colgate to pick up his fourth win of the season.
Bottom Line
Colgate 5, Sacred Heart 2
Won-Lost Records
– Colgate improved to 4-1-0 on the season as it won its third straight contest.
– Playing its first non-conference game of the season, Sacred Heart slipped to 2-3 on the campaign.
How It Happened
– Junior Tyson Spink opened the scoring at the 3:52 mark of the first period, putting home a feed from Goulakos on the power play to give Colgate a 1-0 margin. Baun was credited with a secondary assist on the play.
– Sacred Heart notched the equalizer less than five minutes later. Zach Sabitini found a streaking Zach Luczyk behind the Raiders defense to send him on a breakaway. Luczyk made the most of the opportunity, putting his shot into the back of the net with 8:23 elapsed in the frame to knot the score at 1-1.
– Baun gave the Raiders a 2-1 lead early in the second period. Junior Mike Borkowski won a faceoff in the left circle to Baun, who took the puck to the net and put it home at the 5:14 mark of the frame for his team-leading fourth goal of the season.
– The Pioneers would once again draw level with the Raiders, this time using a wrist shot from Ben Lake in transition to make it a 2-2 contest. Alec Butcher drew an assist on Lake’s goal, which came at 13:33 of the second period.
– Harrison put the Raiders in front for good early in the third period, deflecting home a one-timer from Goulakos during a power play opportunity less than four minutes into the final frame to put the Raiders ahead, 3-2. Baun earned a secondary assist on Harrison’s tally.
– Senior John Lidgett staked Colgate to its first two-goal cushion of the evening when he snuck a shot under the cross bar from just below the right faceoff circle with 11:41 elapsed in the third to make it a 4-2 game. Goulakos picked up his third assist of the evening as the Raiders struck for their third power play goal of the contest.
– Freshman Evan Peterson closed out the scoring at the 18:02 mark of the third, recording an empty-net tally for his second goal of the season. Harrison and junior Ryan Johnston were credited with assists on the play.
Key Raider Information
– Baun has scored a goal in each of the last three contests. He also took over the team scoring lead with six points (4G/2A) thanks to his three-point output.
– Baun and Goulakos are the first two Colgate players to record three points in a game this season. Goulakos is also the first player with three assists in one game this year as he now leads the team with five assists.
– Harrision became the fourth different Colgate player to record a game-winning goal this season. All four game-winning goals this season have been scored by a player tallying the first game-winning goal of their respective careers (sophomore Derek Freeman and freshmen Evan Peterson and Mike Panowyk).
Inside The Box Score
– Colgate held a 28-22 shot advantage in the contest. The Raiders enjoyed a 9-1 margin in shots attempted in the third period.
– Baun led all players with five shots taken in the contest while Goulakos and Lidgett notched four shots apiece.
– Colgate posted a 39-26 margin in the faceoff circle. Borkowski was 17-of-28 and freshman Mike Panowyk was 12-of-15 to pace the Raiders at the dot.
– Colgate was 3-for-5 on power play while Sacred Heart was 0-for-3 with the man advantage.
Finn’s Shutout Streak Comes To An End
– With the goal by Sacred Heart’s Zach Luczyk at the 8:23 mark of the first period, Colgate sophomore goalie Charlie Finn’s shutout streak to a close.
– Finn had a not allowed a goal since the 15:02 of the third period of the Raiders contest against St. Cloud State on Oct. 11, a span of 133:21 that included back-to-back shutouts of Northeastern last weekend at Starr Rink.
Quotable
Colgate Head Coach Don Vaughan
(On game)
“We talk about it all the time. There are no easy games in college hockey and tonight was no exception. We’re a veteran club and we stuck to the task. We knew how we wanted to play against Sacred Heart. We stuck with it and got the result that we wanted.”
(On third period)
“It was our best period of the night. We made some adjustments and the guys use to the atmosphere and the facility. Our power play came to life. We moved it around well all night, but we were able to get some shots through in the third. At the end of the night, the power play proved to be the difference.”
(On power play)
“I thought we found seams really well tonight. Spiro (Goulakos) was able to get open in the middle and when he gets shots from the middle, good things happen. I was really happy that John Lidgett was able to get his goal in the third. Spiro found him through the seam and Lidgett didn’t miss, tucking it under the cross bar. It was a great goal and a huge goal for us tonight.”
