The 10th-ranked Huskies jumped out to a 4-0 lead after the first period and withstood a furious comeback by the Colgate men’s hockey team to escape campus with a 4-3 win.
Colgate (2-4-1) saw Kyle Baun score two goals with one coming on the power play, while Mike Borkowski added two assists in the tough loss. Darcy Murphy got the Raiders to within two with his first of the season in the middle frame. Eric Mihalik got the start and made eight saves in the first period. Spencer Finney relieved Mihalik in the second and didn’t give up any goals on 25 shots in the next two periods.
St. Cloud (3-0-1) remains unbeaten on the season with Niklas Nevalainen leading the way with three points on a goal and two assists. Ethan Prow added two helpers and Kalle Kossila recorded a goal and an assist. Ryan Faragher posted his third win of the year with 27 stops.
The Huskies came ready to play in the second game of the series and scored four goals in the first 20 minutes. The goals started with a power play goal from Nevalainen with the goal coming two minutes into the game. He fired a shot from the point that got through traffic and beat Mihalik short side. Ryan Papa then increased the lead to 2-0 with a put back on a rebound in front with 11:34 remaining in the opening frame.
Kossila made it 3-0 with 6:46 left in the period. Prow and Joey Benik hooked up with Kossila on a nice tic-tac-toe play in the offensive zone. Colgate then gave up its first shorthanded goal of the season with Nic Dowd scoring on a 2-on-1 chance with Kevin Gravel. The two connected on a give-and-go with Nic Dowd finishing at the far post.
The Raiders forgot the first period as they came out in the second and had moments of domination, outshooting the Huskies 17-12. The pressure resulted in the first goal for Colgate, which was from Baun on the power play. After receiving a cross-ice pass from Borkowski, Tyson Spink went back to Borkowski’s side looking for his brother Tylor Spink, but Baun got in the way. The sophomore was in the right spot and tipped home a shot past Faragher, who committed to the cross-ice pass from Tyson Spink.
Colgate continued to hold the momentum and Murphy put the Raiders to within two at 4-2 with 4:20 left in the middle frame. Borkowski was involved again as he slid the puck to Joe Wilson, who found Murphy in the slot. He was able to lift a backhander past Faragher. Murphy almost netted his second of the night after swatting at the puck a couple of times in front, but somehow Faragher made the stop. The play was reviewed, but it was determined to be no goal.
The Raiders kept the pressure on in the third period and Baun scored his second goal of the game, three minutes into the frame. He got a pass up ice from Borkowski and fired a quick wrister from the right circle that beat Faragher under the bar to cut the led to 4-3.
Colgate had a couple of chances late in the game on the power play, but Faragher was able to stop a couple of short range shots to preserve the 4-3 win for St. Cloud.
The Raiders are back in action next weekend at Starr Rink for Silver Puck Weekend, featuring Princeton and Quinnipiac.
