This past weekend, the Colgate men’s hockey team took on two different ECAC rivals, hosting the Yale Bulldogs on Friday night and the Brown Bears on Saturday evening, which was also the team’s senior night. Though the weekend got off to a disappointing start on Friday when the Raiders fell to Yale, Colgate had a quick turnaround and defeated Brown on a night dedicated to their team’s senior players.

On Friday, both Yale and Colgate came out with a strong offensive. After eight minutes of play, first-year forward Josh McKechney scored the first goal for the Raiders after receiving an assist from first-year defender Trevor Cosgrove and sophomore forward Jared Cockrell. This was McKechney’s first goal of the season. Minutes later, the Bulldogs responded with a goal of their own, moving the score to 1-1.

Colgate remained determined as the game moved into the second period, scoring again just six minutes in when sophomore forward John Snodgrass scored his second goal of the season following an assist from junior forward Adam Dauda and sophomore forward Bobby McMann. However, Yale refused to let the Raiders hold onto the lead, tying it up again with another goal in the period’s eighteenth minute.

The teams continued to battle head-to-head until late in the third period, when Yale scored back-to-back goals in the eighteenth and nineteenth minutes to surge into the lead, moving the score to 4-2. The Raiders fought to come back, managing to put another goal on the board less than a minute after Yale’s final goal when captain and senior forward Mike Panowyk scored on an assist from Cockrell. Despite the team’s best efforts, it wasn’t enough to overcome the Bulldogs.

“We can’t be giving away these opportunities. We want to play at home in the playoffs but we’re going to have to find a way to be a lot more aggressive in our own zone tomorrow night,” head coach Don Vaughan said.

On Saturday, the team honored its five seniors in a pre-game ceremony before defeating Brown. Colgate got off to a strong start when Panowyk scored his eighth goal of the season on a power-play in the first period. The team built upon this lead in the second period when sophomore defender Paul Meyer scored on another power play, thanks to an assist from McKeckney and Panowyk; this was his third goal of the season.

“Last night was a tough night as a team, effort wise, and tonight I just tried to play as loose as I could and just put my best foot forward every shift I could. I had some puck luck and luckily my teammates were there to finish the job,” Meyer said.

Two minutes into the third period, Brown fought back with a goal of its own, but the Raiders sealed their victory in the twelfth minute when McMann put another point on the board for the home team, moving the score to 3-1.  This win was the thirteenth for the Raiders this season, and team improved its overall record to 13-14-5, while its ECAC record moved to 9-9-2. This was its third-to-last game of regular season play.

“Everyone’s got something to play for at this point in the season. The playoffs have really already begun. Everybody’s still battling for position,” Vaughan said.

Next weekend, the Raiders will travel to Schenectady, N.Y to battle Union College on Friday night., before heading to Troy, N.Y. to face off against Rensselaer on Saturday. Both puck drops will take place at 7 p.m.

Contact Victoria Holt at vholt@colgate.edu.