HAMILTON – No. 14 Quinnipiac served up a decisive 5-0 final against the Colgate men’s hockey program on Saturday evening in ECAC Hockey action.
The Bobcats came out quick with three shots on goal in the opening minute, but Colgate was able to respond with a couple of quick looks at the Quinnipiac net midway through the period. Just as the Raiders evened up the scoring chances at six apiece, Quinnipiac was able to fire back with a one-timer to gain a 1-0 lead with 4:30 remaining in the opening period.
Play began to spiral in the second stanza as it became riddled with penalties. The time in the box proved detrimental for the Raiders, as three of Quinnipiac’s five goals on the night came while on the man advantage. Colgate faced a heavy third period deficit as they looked to narrow Quinnipiac’s 4-0 lead, and while there were flashes of offense in the Bobcats zone, Quinnipiac notched one more for good measure from the top of the faceoff circle midway through the period for the 5-0 final.
STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
• Senior Adam Dauda led the Raiders with a team-high of five shots on goal.
• Between the pipes, freshman goaltender Mitch Benson marked 31 saves, including 11 in both the first and third periods. The performance marks Benson’s fifth consecutive 30-plus save game.
• Defenseman Paul Meyer topped the Colgate squad with two of the team’s seven blocked shots.
• The faceoff circle has featured some of the Raiders most consistent play this season, where tonight it was a narrow battle for first possession as Quinnipiac won 31 to Colgate’s 30 faceoff attempts.
• The Raiders 21 penalty minutes ties their most on the season, also clocked against Yale (Nov. 3).
THE BOTTOM LINE
• No. 14 Quinnipiac 5, Colgate 0
RECORD UPDATES
• Colgate now holds a 3-7-1 record overall, and a 1-2-1 mark in ECAC Hockey action.
• No. 14 Quinnipiac improves to 9-2-0 overall on the season, and is 4-2-0 in ECAC play.
COACH VAUGHAN’S TAKE
“There is no way to sugar coat what happened tonight. We were flat. Our energy last night was excellent and tonight just nothing. We took two bad penalties in the second period. Seven straight minutes against a very skilled team and it killed us. This week off will give us a chance to regroup and reset. We need to be better and we will be.”
UP NEXT
Colgate will have the weekend off over the holidays before completing the first semester’s action with back-to-back road trips. The Raiders continue ECAC Hockey action at Harvard on Nov. 30 and Dartmouth on Dec. 1, before traveling for a two-game nonconference series at Niagara Dec. 7-8.
