The Colgate men’s ice hockey team had a busy weekend, traveling to Princeton, New Jersey, and Hamden, Connecticut to take on the Princeton Tigers and the Quinnipiac Bobcats, respectively.

On Friday, November 4, the Raiders traveled to Princeton for what proved to be a riveting game as the Raiders skated their way to their first scoreless tie since February 9, 2008 to open the 2017-2018 league play. Sophomore goaltender Colton Point made the second-most saves in his career with 43 saves, while first-year Princeton goalie Ryan Ferland made 36 saves to close out the game in a tie of 0-0. Not only was this Point’s second career shutout, but it was notably his second shutout out of the past three games. As a rising star for the team, Point has made many big-time saves look very simple. 

In the first five minutes of the game, Point stopped a two-on-one breakaway by the Tigers, saving one of 14 saves which he managed to stop just in the first period. Additionally, during the last seven minutes of the second period, Point managed to stop yet another huge shot despite having his stick knocked away from him. Point’s performance managed to save the Raiders during many crucial instances both during the game and in overtime, allowing them to come out with a tie for their first in league game.

On Saturday, November 5, the Raiders took on the Quinnipiac Bobcats, extending their unbeaten streak to five games in their regular season and two games in league play. Coming off their scoreless game against the Tigers, the Raiders traveled to take on the Bobcats with excitement. Junior offender Adam Dauda put the Raiders on the board just over halfway through the first period with his second goal of the season. After a whiff on a shot and one that was deflected by the Quinnipiac goaltender, Dauda was able to rebound the puck into the back of the net for a 1-0 lead. The Raiders managed to double their lead just a minute later when sophomore forward John Snodgrass scored for the first time this season. Quinnipiac managed to get a goal quickly in the start of the second period, sending the puck past Point into the left corner of the net. 

The remainder of the period was fairly even until senior captain Mike Panowyk gained momentum with just 0.3 seconds remaining in the second period and fired the puck into the net off of a breakaway. With just a few minutes left in the third period, Panowyk managed to sneak another goal in, attaining two goals in one game for his first multi-goal game of his career. The Raiders managed to clinch a 4-1 win over the Bobcats, giving them a five-game undefeated streak. 

“We’re building something special here, a lot of people underestimated us at the start of the year by picking us to finish last. We have a chip on our shoulder, we’re going to come at you every single game because we know we have a good group in there and we believe in ourselves. That’s all we need and we’ll just roll from there,” Panowyk said.

With a successful weekend behind them, the Raiders return home to host the Harvard Crimson on Friday, November 10, at 7 p.m. and Dartmouth on Saturday, November 11, at 4 p.m. in hopes of continuing their streak.

Contact Dana Monz at [email protected].