The men’s hockey team finished the weekend with two wins in tow and a lot to be proud of. The Raiders dominated on the offensive end in last Friday’s 6-2 win against the Sacred Heart University (SHU) Pioneers and last Saturday’s 6-5 victory over the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) Tigers. Though the season is young, it already looks like it will be an exciting year for Raiders hockey.

Senior Ben Camper scored the first goal against Sacred Heart seven minutes and 50 seconds into the game with a beautiful sniper into the right corner of the net. A mere 46 seconds later, sophomore Ethan Cox tipped senior Tyler Burton’s shot into the net, giving Colgate a 2-0 lead. Sacred Heart retaliated when Reade Wolansky scored at 13:24 of the first period during a power play. But in the blink of an eye, Colgate was two goals up yet again after first-year Brian Day scored the first goal of his collegiate career sixteen seconds later. Colgate would take a 3-1 lead into the intermission.

The Raiders were not even close to finishing their offensive onslaught for the night. Junior Nick St. Pierre fired a shot at SHU goalie Stefan Drew that was tipped in by senior captain Jesse Wincheste, giving Colgate a 4-1 lead at 9:24 of the second period. The Pioneers showed signs of life when Eric Giosa scored Sacred Heart’s second goal of the game at 13:42 of the second period during a power play. However, senior goalie Mark Dekanich would shut down Sacred Heart for the rest of the night. Cox scored his second goal by hammering the puck into the top shelf a minute-and-a-half after the Giosa score to give Colgate a 5-2 lead. Burton scored the final goal of the game after out-skating a Pioneer defenseman, and the Raiders ended their first game of the season with a 6-2 victory.

Colgate faced RIT the following night. The Raiders started out strong, scoring the first three goals of the game. Winchester was the first to connect with the net 2:27 into the first period. Sophomore Jason Williams scored his first goal of the season with a one-timer that gave Colgate a two-goal advantage. Goal number three came from junior Jason Fredricks, as he skated down the middle and fired a powerful shot past Tiger goalie Louis Menard. Late in the first period, the Tigers made it onto the scoreboard for the first time after Sean Murphy scored a power play goal with just under four minutes left in the period. Then, with just 33 seconds left before intermission, RIT scored its second goal of the game when Matt Smith scored an even strength goal. Colgate took a 3-2 lead into the locker room.

Eleven minutes into the second period, Colgate deflated RIT’s momentum, when Day beat Menard for his second collegiate goal. Unfortunately, Smith scored his second goal of the night on a Tiger power plat at 13:50. Teammate Jesse Newman would follow that score with an even strength goal of his own, knotting the game at four.

RIT continued to apply pressure heading into the third period. Two minutes and 40 seconds in, Matt Crowell received a Sean Murphy pass and put the puck past Dekanich to give the Tigers a 5-4 lead. But Colgate’s offense was too hot for RIT on this night. Sophomore forward David McIntyre retied the game with an even strength goal at 7:47, while Day scored the final and game-winning goal with on a Colgate power play with six-and-a-half minutes left. Dekanich, who made 38 saves on the night, impressed the Starr Rink crowd by making several quick saves that protected Colgate’s victory.

“Our team played with a lot of intensity,” Head Coach Don Vaughan said. “It was a great start to the season, our work ethic was really good and it was a great weekend.”

Colgate will now hit the road to face the defending champions, Michigan State, this weekend.

“This will be a great weekend for us,” Vaughan said. “An opportunity to play the defending champs will be a great test for our team to see how we stack up against one of the premier teams in the country.”