HAMILTON – Senior Tyson Spink tallied two goals and an assist to lead Colgate to a 5-2 victory over RIT in collegiate men’s ice hockey action Friday at Starr Rink.
With his three-point effort, Spink became just the 51st player in program history to reach the 100-point milestone for his career and the first since Austin Smith accomplished the feat during the 2011-12 season.
The Williamstown, Ont., product opened the scoring with an even-strength goal midway through the first period and added an assist on brother Tylor’s second-period strike before capping his evening with an empty-net tally with 1:15 remaining in the contest.
Senior Mike Borkowski and junior Jake Kulevich also scored for the Raiders. Senior Darcy Murphy finished with two helpers and Tylor Spink added an assist to his second-period goal for his first multi-point contest of the season. Rookie defensemen Willie Brooks recorded an assist for the fourth straight contest.
Junior netminder Charlie Finn made 21 saves in goal for Colgate, highlighted by a 15 save-performance in the third period. Christan Short made his first collegiate start between the pipes for RIT and finished with 23 saves.
Bottom Line
Colgate 5, RIT 2
Won-Lost Records
– Colgate evened its season mark at 2-2-0 with the win.
– RIT moved to 0-3-1 on the campaign.
Turning Point
– Tied at 1-1 after the first period, Colgate scored twice in a 1:17 span early in the second to build a 3-1 cushion.
– Tylor Spink gave the Raiders a 2-1 lead at the 3:37 mark of the middle frame, converting a power play rush with a shot between Short’s legs from the middle of the slot for his second goal of the season.
– Kulevich netted the eventual game winner just 77 seconds later, slamming home a rebound from just outside the left post after newcomer Hunter Racine’s transition opportunity was stopped by Short to make it a 3-1 contest.
– RIT cut the Colgate margin to 3-2 at the 8:28 mark of the third on a power-play goal from Greg Amlong, but the Raiders kept the Tigers from notching the equalizer before empty net goals from Tyson Spink and Borkowski in the final 75 seconds determined the final margin.
Key Raider Info
– With his three-point performance, Tyson Spink extended his team-leading point total to nine (3 G, 6 A). Spink has recorded a point in each of the Raiders’ four games this season.
– The multi-goal performance for Tyson Spink was the third of his career. It was also the 20 multi-point contest in a Colgate uniform.
– Tylor Spink notched multiple points for the first time this season and 23rd time in his career.
– Murphy dished out multiple assists for the fifth time in his career as he tallied multiple points for the 11th as a Raider.
– Brooks extended his point-scoring streak to four games with an assist on Tyson Spink’s first-period tally. Brooks and Spink are the only two Raiders with a point in each of the team’s four games this season.
– Borkowski and Tylor Spink both appeared in their 100th games in a Colgate uniform. They became the fourth and fifth members of the Class of 2016 to play in 100 games for the Raiders.
– The contest served as the final home opener for the Raiders in Starr Rink. The facility, which has served as the home facility of Colgate Hockey since 1959, is scheduled to be replaced by Class of 1965 Arena for the start of the 2016-17 season.
Inside The Box Score
– Colgate held a 28-23 shot advantage for the contest. The Raiders held a 20-7 edge over the Tigers for the first two periods, but RIT doubled up Colgate in shots taken in the third (16-8).
– RIT was 2-for-4 on the power play while Colgate was 1-for-4 with the man advantage.
– RIT held a 30-27 margin at the faceoff dot for the contest. Borkowski was 14-of-26 at the dot to lead the Raiders.
– Borkowski and Tylor Spink led the Raiders with five shots each while Brady Norrish tallied four shots to lead the Tigers.
‘gate One Timers
– Colgate moved to 2-1-0 in 2015-16 when scoring first.
– The Raiders improved to 2-0-0 this season and 37-2-5 since the start of the 2012-13 season when leading after two periods.
– Colgate is now 2-1-0 this season and 35-4-1 since the beginning of the 2013-14 season when scoring three or more goals in a game.
– The Raiders improved to 2-1-0 when out-shooting their opponent this season.
Up Next
– Colgate and RIT conclude their home-and-home series Saturday with a 7 p.m. contest at the Gene Polisseni Center in Rochester.
