SCHENCTADY, N.Y. – Junior Tylor Spink scored with 3:23 remaining in regulation to cap a four-goal third period and lift No. 14/15 Colgate to a 5-4 come-from-behind victory over Union in ECAC Hockey action Saturday at Messa Rink.
Trailing 3-1 early in the third, senior Joe Wilson scored on the power play with 6:08 elapsed in the final frame to cut the Raiders deficit to 3-2 before goals from sophomore Emilio Audi and junior Kyle Baun 11 seconds apart in the 10th minute gave Colgate a 4-3 lead.
The Dutchmen would tie the game at 4-4 on a goal from Matt Wilkins before Spink notched the eventual game-winner at the 16:37 mark.
Earlier in the contest, Daniel Ciampini staked the Dutchmen to a 1-0 lead with a power play goal 9:17 mark of the first period and doubled the Union advantage to 2-0 with a breakaway goal just 3:03 later.
A power play goal from Wilson midway through the second cut the Raiders’ deficit in half, but Union regained its two-goal lead on power-play strike from Ryan Scarfo 30 seconds into the third, setting up the Raiders’ third-period comeback.
Sophomore Charlie Finn recorded 21 saves in goal for the Raiders while Colin Stevens finished with 30 stops for the Dutchmen.
Bottom Line
No. 14/15 Colgate 5, Union 4
Won-Lost Records
– Colgate improved to 14-7-1 overall and 6-3-1 in ECAC Hockey play as it won its fifth game in the last six contests.
– Union slipped to 11-10-2 on the season and 4-7-1 in conference play with the one-goal setback.
How It Happened
– Ciampini opened the scoring at the 9:17 mark of the first period. Max Novak found Ciampini alone in front of the Colgate goal from the left faceoff circle, where Ciampini stuffed the puck inside the left post. Mike Vecchione was credited with the secondary assist on the man-advantage tally.
– Ciampini extended the Dutchmen’s margin to 2-0 just 3:03 later with his second goal of the contest. During 4-on-4 action, defenseman Noah Henry connected with Ciampini on a stretch pass that allowed Ciampini to get behind the Colgate defense, where he slid a backhand past Finn for his league-leading 17th goal of the season.
– Wilson got Colgate on the board at the 9:44 mark of the second period with his sixth goal of the season. In the final seconds of a Raiders man-advantage opportunity, sophomore Brett Corkey kept the puck in the zone and fed it to junior Darcy Murphy on the left side-wall. Murphy then zipped a pass to Wilson at the right face off dot, where he ripped a one-timer top shelf to the short side to make it a 2-1 contest.
– Union regained its two-goal lead just 30 seconds into the third period as Ryan Scarfo deflected a point shot from Jeff Taylor past Finn for his seventh goal of the season. Eli Litchenwald was also credited with an assist on the power play goal.
– Wilson started the Colgate comeback at the 6:08 mark of the third when he knocked home a loose puck during a power play opportunity for his second goal of the contest. Tylor Spink and Corkey earned assists on the goal.
– Audi brought the Raiders level at 3-3 with his first goal of the season. Junior Kevin Lough started the sequence by driving from the left point around the net before finding Audi in the middle of the slot, where he buried a wrist shot of the right post and in. Audi’s goal came with 9:31 having been played in the period.
– Colgate took its first lead of the contest just 12 seconds later as a shot by Baun from the top of the point deflected off a Union defender and into the back of the net. Corkey and Tyson Spink were credited with assists on the goal, Baun’s ninth of the season.
– Union tied the game at 4-4 in the 15th minute of the third as Matt Wilkins snapped home a wrist shot from the top of the left faceoff circle for his fourth goal of the season. Novak earned an assist on the game-tying tally.
– Tylor Spink notched the game-wining goal with 16:23 gone in the third period. Baun began the play by flipping the puck high in the air down the left side. Tyson Spink out-raced a Union defender and collected the loose puck in the Dutchmen zone, where made a goalmouth feed to his brother Tylor, who slipped the puck under Stevens for the game-winning marker.
Inside The Box Score
-Colgate out-shot Union by a 35-25 margin during the contest. The Raiders held the edge in all three periods, highlighted by a 16-10 edge in the third.
– Both teams tallied two goals on the power play as Colgate was 2-for-4 with the man-advantage while Union was 2-for-5.
– Union posted a 35-31 margin at the faceoff circle. Tylor Spink was 14-of-30 at the dot to lead the Raiders.
– Wilson and Tyson Spink fired five shots apiece to lead Colgate while four players tallied three shots each for Union.
Key Raider Info
– Sophomore Brett Corkey finished with three assists as he recorded the first multi-point game of his career.
– Tylor Spink posted his first game-winning goal of the season and the third of his career as he became the 10th different Raider to notch a game-winning goal this season.
– Baun (1 G/1 A) and Tyson Spink (2 A) recorded two points each in the contest as the duo remained tied at the top of the Colgate scoring chart with 20 points apiece. Both players posted their fourth multi-point game of the season.
– Wilson turned in his second multi-goal game of the season and the third of his career.
– Audi notched his first goal of the season as he became the 17th different Colgate player to score a goal this season.
– Lough posted tallied his third point in the last four contests (1 G/ 2 A) as he had an assist on Audi’s third-period tally.
’gate One Timers
– Colgate improved to 4-2 in one-goal games this season. Three of Colgate’s last five victories have been by one goal.
– The Raiders moved to 11-1-0 this season and 28-3-1 since the start of the 2013-14 season when scoring three or more goals in a game.
– Colgate improved to 2-5-1 this season when trailing after two periods.
– The Raiders moved to 3-6-1 on the year when their opponent scores first.
– Colgate improved to 9-2-1 during the 2014-15 season when out-shooting its opponent.
– The Raiders improved to 9-2-1 this season when attempted more than 30 shots in the game.
– Colgate improved to 10-3-0 this season when scoring a power play goal.
From The Source
Colgate Head Coach Don Vaughan
(On game)
“It was one of the more gutsy performances of any Colgate team I’ve had. Down 3-1 in this building against that team, to battle back and never quit, even when they tied it up at 4-4, a lot of teams would have emotionally checked out, but this team stepped up and found a way to get it done. I really proud of our guys and i’m thrilled to get the win here at Union.”
(On similarities between last season’s win at Mess Rink and tonight’s victory)
“I don’t know. Last year was a little bit different. I thought tonight we grinded it out more where as last year we caught a break. I thought tonight we really earned the comeback and the win.”
(On regaining focus in the locker room during second intermission)
“We talked a lot about that in-between periods. We tried to get that out of the way and focus on getting back to playing hockey. Cut the stuff after the whistle; just go hard for 30 seconds between whistles and get off. Don’t not get caught up in any of the other stuff. I thought both teams settled down in the third period.”
Junior Tylor Spink
(On game-winning goal)
“It started in our own zone. Kyle (Baun) made a terrific play down to Tyson (Spink). The defenseman tried to hit it out of the air with his glove but missed and Tyson jumped on it. I saw that I could get going there and so I got on the horse and Tyson made a backhand pass and I just shot it. I think it was rolling actually and I shot it and just hoped that it went in. I turned around and Tyson had his hands up, so I was happy (pause) and tired at the same time. It was a great play on everyone’s part.”
(On third period)
“Obviously it’s tough (to go down 3-1 to start the third). The coaching staff and the players settled down, especially during the second intermission. We knew that if we got a few shots on net and a couple of goals like we did, they would start to break down and they did and it led to our finish.”
Up Next
– Colgate returns home for the first time in nearly two months as it hosts Dartmouth Jan. 23 in a 7 p.m. ECAC Hockey contest at Starr Rink.
– Tickets are available by calling 315-228-7600 or by visiting Bleedcolgatemaroon.com.
