HAMILTON – The Colgate men’s hockey team kept the wheels turning against ranked opponents as the Raiders downed Vermont, 3-2, on Saturday night.
Colgate (9-9-3) extending its unbeaten streak to three games and all three have come against ranked opponents. The Raiders scored two power play goals for the second-straight game with scores by Darcy Murphy and Tyson Spink. Tylor Spink was the other goal scorer for Colgate.
Tylor Spink and Murphy ended the night with two points as each posted assists.
Charlie Finn was solid in net for the third-consecutive game, making 24 saves and has improved his record to 6-4-2. He made 13 stops in the third period alone to earn the win.
The Catamounts (11-7-3) had their five-game unbeaten streak snapped by the Raiders. Mario Puskarich and Colin Markison were the goal scorers for the visitors. Mike Santaguida pushed aside 21 shots in the loss.
The Raiders took the early 1-0 lead thanks to Murphy’s third goal in as many games. The sophomore scored his 11th of the season on a great play at the far post. Ryan Johnston got the puck at the point after a cross-ice pass from Brett Corkey. Johnston fired the puck through traffic and Murphy was there to pick up the garbage at the far post for the power play goal. The score came 2:47 into the game.
Vermont tied it up just over five minutes later as Brendan Bradley dropped a pass to Puskarich and he skated around a defender to the high slot and beat Finn off the crossbar and into the net.
Tylor Spink got the lead back for the Raiders with 5:05 remaining in the first period. Murphy took a big hit put got rid of the puck to the center of the offensive zone. The Catamounts tried to get a quick clear, but Emilio Audi stepped into the path of the puck and got it to Tylor Spink. The sophomore got his eighth of the year with a low shot that beat Santaguida.
After a scoreless second period, Vermont opened the third with a tying goal just 57 seconds into the final frame. Markison received a pass on a rush up ice from Chris McCarthy and right before he ran into Finn, he put it into the back of the net to tie the game at 2-2.
Colgate regained the lead for good with its second power play of the night with Tyson Spink scoring his third of the season. Tylor Spink made a nice play behind the net and slipped a pass out to his brother and he buried it for the gamewinner with 13:37 left in the game.
The Raiders needed a smart play from Spiro Goulakos after a crazy bounce off the boards. Vermont put the puck into the offensive zone and Finn went to play the puck behind the net. The puck took a bad bounce off the glass and ended up in front of the net. Goulakos made a diving play to chip the puck away from the Catamount player charging the net.
Colgate went 2-for-5 on the power play against one of the best penalty-killing team in the nation. Vermont scored once on two chances as the Raiders were disciplined and only allowed two power plays.
The Raiders jump back into conference play this coming weekend with visits to Dartmouth and Harvard.
