Kulevich scored his second goal in as many contests on an unassisted effort late in the second period to break the 2-2 deadlock and ignite the Raiders to their fourth win in five appearances on home ice this season. Juniors Tyson Spink and Kyle Baun added insurance markers in the third period to determine the three-goal final margin.
Junior Ryan Johnston and sophomore Andrew Black scored their first goals of the season in the first period to give Colgate a 2-0 lead. St. Lawrence battled back with a pair of second-period tallies to tie the game and set up Kulevich’s heroics.
Sophomore keeper Charlie Finn made a season-high 35 saves between the pipes for the Raiders to pick up his eighth win of the season.
Bottom Line
No. 6/6 Colgate 5, St. Lawrence 2
Won-Lost Records
– Colgate improved to 2-1-0 in league play and 8-3-0 on the season with the victory.
– St. Lawrence moved to 2-1-0 in conference action and 6-4-1 overall with the setback.
How It Happened
– Sophomore Andrew Black opened the scoring just 70 seconds into the contest when he knocked home a rebound off a shot from sophomore Emilio Audi to give Colgate a quick 1-0 lead. Junior Darcy Murphy was credited with a secondary assist on the play.
– Johnston doubled the Raiders advantage to 2-0 at the 11:11 mark of the first period. With Colgate on the power play, Murphy found Johnston open at the top of the point, where he unleashed a slap shot that found its way through a maze of players and into the back of the net for his first goal of the season.
– St. Lawrence trimmed its deficit to 2-1 78 seconds into the second period. During a failed breakout by the Raiders, sophomore Eric Sweetman fired a slap shot on goal that came through traffic and beat Finn to make it a 2-1 game.
– The Saints pulled even with less than four minutes to play in the second period when junior Sean McGovern scored on a shorthanded breakaway to knot the game at 2-2. Junior Tommy Thompson was credited with an assist on Mcgovern’s goal.
– Kulevich put the Raiders back in front, 3-2, exactly one minute before the second intermission with his second goal in as many contests. As St. Lawrence attempted to clear the zone, Kulevich collected the puck at the top of the right faceoff circle and ripped a shot that glanced off a Saints defender and into the back of the net.
– Spink gave Colgate its second two-goal margin of the contest on his sixth goal of the season with 13:40 elapsed in the third period. Senior Spiro Goulakos found a streaking Spink alone on the slot as he drove towards the left side of the net. Spink collected the pass and out-waited St. Lawrence keeper Kyle Hayton before flipping a shot just from just before in front of the goal line into the upper right-hand corner of the net to make it a 4-2 game.
– Baun closed out the scoring on a power goal with just under two minutes remaining. Baun took a feed from senior John Lidgett at the top of the Saints zone and drove to the net before sliding the puck under Hayton for his sixth goal of the season. Goulakos earned a secondary assist on the play.
Inside The Box Score
– St. Lawrence held a slim 37-35 shot advantage in the contest. The Saints out-shot the Raiders, 26-20 over the final two periods after Colgate posted a 15-11 margin in the first.
– Colgate was 2-for-7 on the power play while St. Lawrence was 0-for-2 with the man advantage. The Saints did pick up a shorthanded goal during one of the Raiders seven power play opportunities.
– The Raiders held a slim 33-31 advantage at the faceoff circle. Lidgett was 11-of-19 at the dot while freshman Mike Panowyk was 9-for-17 to lead Colgate.
Key Raider Info
– Baun and Spink remained tied for the team lead in goals as both players scored their sixth goal of the season during the contest. Baun continues to lead the team in scoring with 12 points (6G/6A).
– Goulakos became the first player to record double-digit assists this season as his two helpers tonight moved his season total to 10.
– Kulevich recorded the first game-winning goal of his career with his second-period tally. He has now scored in each of the last two games after playing 47 games in a Colgate uniform before notching his first career goal.
– Murphy turned in his team-leading third multi-point performance of the season while Goulakos notched two or more points for the second time this season.
– Finn recorded 30 or more saves for the second time this season and the 10th time in his career with his 35-save effort. He improved to 5-2-3 in his career when recording 30 or more saves in a contest.
‘Gate One Timers
– Colgate improved to 8-0-0 this season when scoring the first goal of the contest.
– The Raiders moved to 7-0-0 when leading after two periods.
– Colgate is now 8-1-0 this season when it allows two goals or fewer in a game.
– The Raiders upped their mark to 7-1-0 this season when scoring a power play goal.
– Colgate moved to 7-3-0 this season when winning the face off battle.
– The Raiders improved to 8-0-0 this season when scoring three or more goals in a game.
