PRINCETON, N.J. – Jake Kulevich (Marblehead, Massachusetts) scored the only goal for the Colgate men’s ice hockey team Sunday night as the Raiders’ season came to an end with a 2-1 loss to the Princeton Tigers.
Princeton won the ECAC Hockey First Round Series, 2-1, after winning Saturday and Sunday night’s games.
Kulevich’s goal was his sixth of the season, setting a new career-high, to go along with his 22nd point to lead the Raiders. Kulevich is the first Colgate defenseman to lead the Raiders in scoring since at least the 1999-2000 season.
For the third consecutive night, the Raiders jumped out to a 1-0 lead just 6:07 into the first period off Kulevich’s stick. Kulevich kept the puck in the offensive zone after a failed clear by the Tigers and dropped the puck off for Jared Cockrell (Byfield, Massachusetts). Cockrell quickly tapped the pass to Tim Harrison (Duxbury, Massachusetts) who found Kulevich skating behind the end line. Kulevich’s initial shot was saved but the rebound came right back to him. His momentum carried him to the top of the crease where he scored five-hole on Colton Phinney.
Harrison recorded his 20th point of the season with his ninth assist, good for second on the team behind Kulevich while Cockrell tallied his 11th assist and 17th point.
Goaltender Charlie Finn was superb for the third consecutive night as he made 27 saves in goal for the Raiders. Overall in the series, Finn led ECAC Hockey with 107 saves with a .930 save percentage and 2.37 GAA.
The Tigers answered back to Kulevich’s goal just over four minutes later on Derek Topatigh’s second goal of the season where he rifled a shot off a pass from Alex Riche past Colgate netminder Charlie Finn to tie the game, 1-1.
Both teams remained tied for most of the second period before Ryan Kuffner netted his second of the season to take a 2-1 lead with 6:43 left in the period when he skated in the through the left faceoff circle and tucked the puck past Finn.
The Raiders put on a furious rally in the third period, outshooting the Tigers 15-11 with the most shots in a single period but Phinney turned away all 15 shots.
BOTTOM LINE
Princeton 2, Colgate 1
WON-LOST RECORDS
The Tigers win the series 2-1 and advance to the ECAC Hockey Quarterfinals at Union next weekend, improving their record to 15-14-3. The Raiders fall to 9-22-6 with the loss.
KEY RAIDER INFO
-Kulevich recorded Colgate’s lone goal, a career-high sixth this season and his 22nd point
-Harrison joined Kulevich with 20 points on an assist on Kulevich’s goal
-Cockrell’s assist was his 11th of the season
-Colgate is one of just two ECAC Hockey teams with three freshman recording at least 15 points this season
-Finn continued his spectacular series with 27 saves in the game, finishing the series with 107
-The Colgate senior class wrapped up their careers with 62 wins, two trips to the ECAC Hockey Championship game and one NCAA Tournament Appearance
FACTS AND FIGURES
-Colgate outshot Princeton, 36-29, including 27-18 over the final two periods
-Both teams had exactly one power play, with the Raiders going 0 for 1 and the Tigers converting on their only chance
-Colgate also held the advantage in faceoffs at 34-30 and were led by Evan Peterson (Lakeville, Minnesota) with 12 faceoff wins
UP NEXT
To stay up to date on the latest Colgate men’s ice hockey offseason news, continuing checking GoColgateRaiders.com and follow the Raiders on Twitter, @Colgate_Hockey.
