The Colgate men’s hockey team was victorious as the team went 2-0 against two well-respected hockey programs this past weekend. The Raiders started off their weekend upseting the No. 1 team in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC), the Harvard Crimson, with a 2-1 win. This win marks Colgate’s second win over a ranked opponent and advances its winning streak to six games. The following day, the Raiders remained undefeated at home with a 3-2 win over the Dartmouth Big Green. The games topped off the Silver Puck Weekend festivities, during which alumni of the Colgate hockey program celebrated the team’s history and success.

During the Harvard game, fresh out of the penalty box senior forward Mike Panowyk connected with sophomore forward Jared Cockrell who buried the puck in the net to put the Raiders up 1-0 8:20 into the first period. This marked Cockrell’s fourth goal of the season. Close battles on the ice left both teams scoreless for the following 20 minutes, until sophomore defenseman Paul Meyer put the Raiders up 2-0 off a turnover by the Crimson. It wasn’t until late in the second period that Harvard was able to answer making the score 2-1. Harvard’s junior forward Ryan Donato scored off a power play with 53.7 seconds left in the play. 

Although Harvard outshot Colgate 31-20, this posed no problem for Colgate’s sophomore goalkeeper Colton Point. Point had an impressive performance, holding his own in the cage and making 30 saves against the Crimson, which moved him to a .956 save percentage. 

“We had really good energy early; our structure was really good tonight. We did a lot of things well early, obviously in the third period we knew they were going to press and come hard. We got into a defensive posture but you’re playing a really skilled team and that was going to happen,” head coach Don Vaughan said.

On Saturday, November 11, the Raiders took down the Dartmouth Big Green 3-2, advancing their undefeated streak to seven games, the longest current streak in the country. Big Green junior forward Alex Jasiek scored the first goal of the game at 10:10. The Raiders were able to answer over 20 minutes later, tying the game 8:40 in the second period, when Panowyk scored on a power play. Just four minutes later, sophomore forward Bobby McMann pushed the puck past Dartmouth’s sophomore goalkeeper Adrian Clark with a deflection off his skate. McMann scored again with 35.4 seconds left in the game off a power play. 

The Raiders took the slim advantage in shots leading over Dartmouth 31-30. Point tallied 28 saves, increasing his undefeated streak to ten games. The win over Dartmouth leaves the Raiders undefeated at home.

“Clearly you want to have some kind of home ice advantage. I’ve always said in our league if you win at home and can split on the road, you’re going to be challenging for the top of the league every year. We’re taking a lot of pride in playing at home. It’s a beautiful building and it’s our home now. Finally after being in it as long as we have now, it’s starting to feel a little bit more like ours,” Vaughan said.

“Everyone doubted us coming into this year because we were projected to finish 12th in the ECAC and I think that gave this resilient group a little extra motivation. After winning both games this weekend I think our team realized we have a chance to do something special this year,” sophomore forward Ben Sharf said.

The Raiders take on Clarkson and St. Lawrence next weekend. Tune in to find out if the team continues its success.

Contact Lexi Luthringer at lluthringer@colgate.edu.