The Colgate men’s hockey team went 1-0-1 over this past weekend, battling to a 1-1 overtime tie with #19 ranked Union on Friday night before bouncing back for a convincing 5-2 victory over Rensselaer on Saturday. The team wrapped up regular season play with a 14-14-6 overall record and will look to advance in the ECAC conference tournament against RPI this coming weekend.

The Raiders’ tie with Union on Friday night came largely thanks to a goal from first-year defender Trevor Cosgrove with less than a minute to play in regulation. The first-year netted the goal with 48 seconds to play, forcing overtime against a talented Union team before ending the game in a tie. Cosgrove’s goal, his fourth of the year, was assisted by sophomore forward Bobby McMann. Sophomore Colton Point was solid in goal, as he has been all season long, tallying 21 saves as his impressive season continues on. 

The difficult contest gave the Raiders a much needed point in the ECAC standings in the season’s home stretch as the conference tournament looms in the near future. Colgate outshot Union in regulation and in overtime, but were unable to score the needed go-ahead goal. 

“As a team, it was one of our best games. Our effort was there, our energy was there and as a d-corps we were solid. They liked to chip pucks in and take the body. We answered it by playing a simple game. Point made some big saves like always and we just played a solid game. Hopefully we keep that up moving forward,” Cosgrove said.

The Raiders were right back in action the following day at RPI, coming away with a big 5-2 road victory to wrap up regular season play in the ECAC. Colgate finished league play with an impressive 10-9-3 record in the ECAC, and was able to clinch home ice advantage for the first round of the league’s postseason tournament. Two goals in the second and third periods allowed the Raiders to pull away from Rensselaer after each team netted a goal in the first. First-year forward Paul McAvoy scored two goals, tallying his first career multi-point game. Junior forward Hunter Racine scored his third goal of the season, while first-year forward Henry Marshall netted his second of the year and sophomore forward Jared Cockrell put home an empty-netter for his eighth goal of the year, sealing the deal for the Raiders on the road. 

A key defensive effort from sophomore Jacob Panetta helped the Raiders pull away in the second period. Point was once again phenomenal in goal, tallying 34 saves and picking up his 13th victory of the season. Sophomore John Snodgrass picked up his 14th assist of the season and extended his team-leading point total to 28 on the year. Head coach Don Vaughan praised his young group’s efforts in a pivotal late season game. 

“They’ve come a long way this year. For a young team, home ice can be an advantage and we are a young team. We’ve played better at home than on the road,” Vaughan said.

Colgate will host RPI next weekend at home to kick off ECAC conference play. The puck will drop Friday, March 2 at 7 p.m.

Contact Gabe Alter at galter@colgate.edu.