TEMPE, Ariz. – Derek Freeman (Newburyport, Massachusetts) scored the game-winning goal with 9:50 left in the third period to propel the Colgate men’s ice hockey team past the Arizona State Sun Devils, 3-2, Saturday night at Oceanside Ice Arena.
Colgate seniors scored all three goals for the Raiders Saturday night as Tim Harrison (Duxbury, Massachusetts) scored the game-tying goal and Brett Corkey (Calgary, Alberta) got the scoring started for the Raiders early in the game. Saturday marks the first time since Oct. 1 first that only seniors scored in the same game for the Raiders.
Freeman and Harrison each scored their fifth goals of the season to take over the team lead in 2016-17. Both seniors scored in each game for the Raiders this weekend in the Raiders’ first trip to Arizona. Corkey’s goal was his fourth of the season, passing Jake Kulevich (Marblehead, Massachusetts) for the most goals by a defenseman on the team.
Kulevich earned an assist on Harrison’s goal to make him the 29th defenseman in program history to record at least 50 points. Kulevich has three goals and nine assists for 12 points this season and 12 goals and 38 assists for 50 points in his career.
Freshman goaltender Colton Point (North Bay, Ontario) earned his first career victory for the Raiders, needing just 13 saves in the process. The Raiders’ defense locked it down in the final two periods, allowing just five shots and a 16-5 advantage.
Freeman scored his game-winning goal midway through the third period. Arizona State tried to clear the puck but Cockrell was positioned perfectly to track down the puck. Cockrell circled around in the neutral zone before heading to the offensive zone. Cockrell dropped the puck back for Freeman who sniped the top corner past Arizona State goaltender Ryland Pashovitz’s glove with the game-winner.
With less than a minute to go in the final period, Point made a miraculous save to preserve the victory. The Sun Devils collected the puck on the weak side and fired a tough angle shot but Point slid across his goal line to cover the post and make the huge pad save.
Harrison scored the game-tying goal early in the second period, 2-2, with the Raiders’ first of two power-play goals in the win. Adam Dauda (Kitchener, Ontario) won the faceoff in the right faceoff circle back to Brooks at the right point. Brooks shifted the puck to Kulevich with a point-to-point pass where he fired a shot on goal. Harrison came across the cross and tipped the puck past an unsuspecting Pashovitz for the goal.
Arizona State initially took a 1-0 lead with 10:19 left in the 1st period on Wade Murphy’s second goal of the season. Jake Montgomery fed the puck from the wing to Murphy on top of the slot where he made a quick backhanded shot past Point.
The Raiders tied the game late in the first period as Corkey buried his fourth goal of the season. Anthony Sanniti (LaSalle, Quebec) carried the puck into the neutral zone before he lost the puck. Cockrell sent the puck across the neutral zone where he found Corkey, who skated the puck into the left faceoff circle and fired his shot past Arizona State goaltender Ryland Pashovitz.
Anthony Croston regained the lead for the Sun Devils with just 12.2 seconds left in the first period on a delayed penalty goal. Montgomery fired a shot from the right wing that was saved by Point but the rebound caromed off Point’s pad to Croston on the back door where he buried the puck.
Colgate scored two power-play goals in the same game for the sixth time this season
BOTTOM LINE
Colgate 3, Arizona State 2
WON-LOST RECORDS
The Raiders snap a four-game losing streak, closing out the first half of the season with a win to improve to 4-9-4 (2-4-1 ECAC Hockey) while the Sun Devils fall to 4-13-0 on the season.
KEY RAIDER INFO
-Freeman scored his first game-winning goal this season and third of his career
-Freeman and Harrison are tied for the team lead with five goals this season
-Kulevich became the 29th defenseman in program history to record 50 career points with an assist Saturday night that also extended his career best point streak to five games
-Point needed just 13 saves to pick up the first win of his career
-Cockrell led the Raiders with two assists, picking up the second two-point game of his career. He has five points in his last seven games
-Willie Brooks (Locust, New Jersey) picked up his second assist in as many nights
-Tyler Penner (Winnipeg, Manitoba) won a game-high 11 faceoffs
FACTS AND FIGURES
-The Raiders outshot the Sun Devils, 27-15, including 16-5 over the final two periods
-Colgate recorded its sixth game with a pair of power-play goals, going 2 for 5
-Arizona State held the edge in faceoffs, winning 34 compared to Colgate’s 24.
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Don Vaughan
“We bounced back really well tonight, it’s never easy. We deserved to win the game tonight, it could have been a little bit easier if the pucks bounced a little differently. We only gave up 15 shots on goal, that’s great for our team.”
To hear more from Vaughan, click here.
UP NEXT
The Raiders are off for four weeks before returning to action on Friday, Dec. 30 at 4 pm against nationally ranked No. 4 UMass-Lowell in the opening game of the Ledyard Classic hosted by the Dartmouth Big Green.
