#19 Raiders Clinch First-Round Bye With Win at #5 Quinnipiac
HAMDEN, Conn. – Sophomore Tylor Spink had his chance to shine after his twin brother’s hat trick last night and he did against No. 5 Quinnipiac.
Colgate (16-11-5, 12-5-3 ECAC) earned the weekend sweep with a 3-1 win over the Bobcats and has earned a first-round bye in the upcoming ECAC Hockey Tournament. The Raiders are five points ahead of Yale, who sits in fifth, with two games to go.
Head coach Don Vaughan said the first round bye is important, but this team has more work to do.
“I’m proud of our guys. They just keep working on improving every day,” Vaughan said. “It’s a process and this group bought in early to what we are trying to do. The first round bye is important, but we know there are tough games ahead. We just try and to get better every day. Again just very proud of the team.”
Spink tried his luck at equaling his brother’s hat trick, but couldn’t find the third goal. He still scored twice, including the gamewinner in the third period. Darcy Murphy added an empty netter with under a minute to go in the game to seal the deal.
“The two of them compete so hard,” Vaughan said of the Spink twins. “I thought this weekend they really created a lot of time and space for themselves. When they get that, they make a lot of plays and that is what good players do.
“We can’t overlook what Kyle Baun does on that line as well. He is hard on the puck and separates as well as any player I’ve ever coached.”
Charlie Finn was excellent in net with 31 saves to help the Raiders earn their second first-round bye in the last two seasons. The Raiders have tallied seven wins this season against ranked opponents and are 5-1-3 against top-20 teams in 2014.
Quinnipiac (21-8-5, 11-6-3 ECAC) got its lone goal from Connor Jones on the power play, but the Bobcats’ best player was Martin Garteig. He stoned the Raiders on multiple breakaways or the margin could have been larger. He made a total of 21 saves on the night.
The Raiders had three chances on the power play in the first period, but couldn’t get one past Garteig. Quinnipiac did a great job getting in shooting lanes and blocking shots. The Bobcats had the best chance in the first and celebrated as if they had scored. However, the official waved off the play and his call was upheld after a review.
Quinnipiac had an 8-5 shot advantage even with Colgate’s three power plays. The Bobcats came into the game with the second-ranked penalty kill in the nation at 90.5 percent.
Spink broke the ice with 10:46 left in the second with a great wrist shot from the slot. He was able to gain control of the puck behind the net. Spink then circled around in front of Garteig and fired a well-placed wrister through traffic to give Colgate the 1-0 lead.
The Bobcats evened it up on the power play just 1:37 after the Raiders took the lead. Devon Toews spotted Matthew Peca with a cross-ice pass. Peca connected with a one-timer from the right circle and Connor Jones tipped it in past Finn to tie the score.
Still in the second, Colgate had a great chance to regain the lead with a five-minute power play. The best chance came on a 3-on-1 for the Raiders as Quinnipiac was caught up ice. John Lidgett broke into the zone and flipped a pass over to Freeman on the doorstep. He redirected the pass, but Garteig sprawled out across the crease. He got a piece of the shot with the paddle of his stick to keep it a tie game going into the third.
The third period started with another Quinnipiac power play, but the Raiders were able to kill it off to keep the game tied.
Spink then gave the Raiders the lead in the third period with his second of the night. He picked up a blocked clearing pass in front of Garteig. He waited out the Quinnipiac netminder and made his make the first move. He went down and Spink shot it over the pad for the 2-1 lead.
Murphy’s empty net goal completed the weekend sweep with a 3-1 win as he took the shot from the redline. Quinnipiac outshot the Raiders, 32-24, and went 1-for-4 on the power play. Colgate failed to score on the power play in four chances.
The Raiders close out the regular season next weekend with Harvard and Dartmouth coming to Hamilton. Colgate will honor its two seniors prior to the game against the Big Green on Saturday.
