HAMILTON – Colgate scored twice in the first period and sophomore Charlie Finn made 35 saves for his NCAA-leading sixth shutout of the season as the Raiders knocked off visiting Union, 2-0, in ECAC Hockey action Friday at Starr Rink.
Junior Tyson Spink scored just 53 seconds into the contest to give Colgate a 1-0 lead before senior Joe Wilson added an insurance marker at the 14:05 mark of the opening frame to stake the Raiders to the early advantage.
That would be all the support Finn would need, turning aside 26 shots over the final two periods, including a game-high 14 saves in the third, to move him into a tie with former Raider netminder Mark Dekanich for first place on the program’s single-season shutout list.
“I thought it was a gutsy effort, especially on the back end,” Colgate Head Coach Don Vaughan said. “We had some major miscues early in the game and caught a couple breaks. I thought Charlie (Finn) made a couple of key saves at the right time.
“I was really proud of the effort of Ryan Johnston and Kevin Lough. I thought they played really well tonight. We didn’t give up a lot of second and third-chance opportunities by the net. I was really proud of how we played in our own zone.”
Bottom Line
– Colgate 2, Union 0
Won-Lost Records
– Colgate improved to 17-11-3 overall and 9-7-3 in ECAC play as it swept the season series from the defending national champion Dutchmen.
– Union moved to 14-15-2 on the year and 6-12-1 against league competition as it was shutout for the third straight contest.
How It Happened
– Spink put Colgate in front just 53 seconds into the contest when he converted a 2-on-1 opportunity with his brother Tylor by placing a wrist shot past the glove hand of Union keeper Colin Stevens for his 11th goal of the year. Junior Kyle Baun was credited with a secondary assist on the play.
– Wlison doubled the Raiders margin to 2-0 at the 14:05 mark of the first, collecting a loose puck on a point shot from junior Ryan Johnston and firing the puck off a recovering Stevens from just in front of the goal line on the left side of the cage for his 10th goal of the season. Junior Mike Borkowski earned the other assist on the even-strength tally.
– Union appeared to get on the board midway through the second period. A neutral zone dump in by Conner Light hit a partition in the glass and took an unnatural bounce off the wall and into the open Raiders goal as Finn had left the crease in anticipation of the puck going behind the Colgate net. The goal was disallowed, however, as the Dutchmen were on a delayed offside when the puck was played into the zone by Light.
Inside The Box Score
– Union outshot Colgate, 35-28, for the contest. The Raiders posted a 17-9 shot margin in the first, but the Dutchmen held a 26-11 edge over the final two frames.
– Neither scored a power play goal in the game as both teams were 0-for-3 with the man advantage.
– Colgate held a 30-29 margin in faceoffs. Tylor Spink was 11-of-22 at the dot to lead the Raiders while Mike Vecchione was 13-of-24 to pace the Dutchmen.
– Three players attempted a team-high four shots for Colgate while Michael Pontarell fired five shots for Union.
Key Raider Info
– Wilson became the third Raider to reach double digits in goals this season, joining Baun and Tyson Spink in that category.
– Wilson also matched his single-season high in goals, set during his freshman season of 2011-12.
– Tyson’s Spink’s opening-minute tally was his first game-winning goal of the season and the sixth of his career.
– Baun record his team-leading 24th point of the season (11 G/13 A) on Tyson Spink’s first-period tally while Spink remained one point back of Baun as his goal was the 23rd (11 G/ 12 A) point of the campaign for the Williamstown, Ont., product.
– Baun and Johnston remained tied for the team lead in assists as both players picked up their 13th assists of the campaign.
– The Raiders posted back-to-back shutouts for the second time this season (Oct. 17-18 against Northeastern).
– Finn recorded 30 or more saves for the fourth time this season and the 12th time in his career. He improved to 4-0-0 in 2014-15 and 7-2-3 all-time when doing so.
Finn Ties Season Shutout Mark, Moves Up Career Shutout List
– With his sixth shutout of the season on Friday, sophomore Charlie Finn moved into a tie with Mark Dekanich (2007-08) for first place on Colgate’s single-season shutout list.
– Finn also surpassed Shep Harder (1997-2000) and Jeff Cooper (1981-85) to move into sole possession of third place on the program’s career shutout chart as tonight’s victory was Finn’s seventh clean sheet in his 57-game career.
‘gate One Timers
– Colgate improved to 14-4-0 this season when scoring first.
– The Raiders moved to 7-1-0 in 2014-15 when leading after one period.
– Colgate saw its record shift to 34-2-5 since the start of the 2012-13 season and 14-2-0 this year when leading after two periods.
– The Raiders are now 17-4-3 this season when scoring two or more goals in a game.
– Colgate improved to 12-0-0 in 2014-15 when holding the opposition to one goal or fewer.
Up Next
– Colgate closes out the home portion of its regular season schedule Saturday when it hosts RPI in a 7 p.m. contest.
– The contest will serve as the program’s senior day, with the program honoring its six senior student-athletes and student manager prior to the contest.
– Tickets are available by calling 315-228-7600 or by visiting Bleedcolgatemaroon.com.
