The Colgate men’s hockey team opened its season this past Saturday with a huge 5-1 win against Niagara University at the Class of 1965 Arena. First-year forward Tyler Jeanson was the first Raider to score seven minutes into the first period. Jeanson received a pass from senior forward Sebastian Weberg before finishing low glove side to give the Raiders the first goal of the season. 

Niagara’s Noah Delmas answered back with 6:47 remaining in the first period during a five-on-three play. However, the Raiders were able to shut out the Purple Eagles for the rest of the game with four unanswered goals. Sophomore forward Bobby McMann put the Raiders back on the board shooting low glove side off of a pass from sophomore forward John Snodgrass. 

Less than two minutes later, Colgate sophomore forward Jared Cockrell put yet another goal on the board. The puck was deflected off of Niagara’s first-year goalkeeper Brian Wilson after a shot from McMann, and Cockrell was able to fire the rebound from the crease, advancing the Raiders to a 3-1 lead. 

Midway through the third period, Colgate first-year forward Paul McAvoy received a pass from sophomore forward Ben Sharf, passed by a Niagara defender and chipped the puck backhand over Wilson’s glove. Cockrell ended the game with 57 seconds remaining in the last period by scoring on an empty net. 

Colgate’s sophomore goalkeeper Colton Point also had an exceptional start to the season, saving 31 out of 32 shots during the game. The contest marked the fifth career game in which he has tallied 30 or more saves.

“I’ve said this before, but [Colton] makes the difficult save look easy so sometimes you sort of underestimate how well he did play,” head coach Don Vaughan said.

The Raiders also finished with a 39-35 advantage on faceoffs. Senior forward Evan Peterson led the Colgate Raiders with 11 faceoff wins. Other highlights included Sharf and first-year defenseman Trevor Cosgrove garnering their first career assists.

Additionally, the Raiders put up the highest number of goals in a game since last season’s win against the University of Maine Black Bears. The Raiders went 0-for-6 on power play opportunities, while Niagara went 1-for-5.

“It’s a good feeling, it’s nice to get off to a start like that. For our young team, it’s good in terms of confidence and gives them a bit of a jolt. We got some contributions from some first-years tonight, which was fun to see,” Vaughan said 

The Raiders hope this victory will set a precedent for the season as they prepare for a two-game series next weekend against the Merrimack College Warriors in the Class of 1965 Arena. The puck will drop on Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. 

Contact Lexi Luthringer at [email protected].