The Colgate Men’s ice hockey team season has officially come to a close after a tough three-game ECAC quarter final tilt against the Princeton Tigers.  

The first game of the series commenced on Friday, March 4, in an intense contest as the Raiders seized a 3-2 win in overtime to secure the 1,000th win in program history. Both teams came out strong, and the game remained in a dead heat for much of the first two periods. The first goal was not scored until the last 29 seconds of the second period when junior forward Mike Panowyk netted Colgate’s first goal from a defensive clear by sophomore defenseman Kenny Citron, to give them a 1-0 lead over the Tigers. Princeton was able to tie the game in the first 59 seconds of the third period, with junior forward David Hallisey capitalizing on the Raider’s inability to clear the puck out of the zone by firing a shot past senior goalie Charlie Finn. Just under two-and-a-half minutes later, the Tigers took a 2-1 lead by getting the puck to the back of the net during a power-play. 

With just over seven minutes left in the third period, junior forward Evan Peterson scored after receiving a pass from behind the net on a wide-open backdoor for the game-tying goal. Moving into overtime, Panowyk carried the puck down into the offensive zone, ultimately getting the puck to senior defenseman Jake Kulevich, who capitalized on the open lane and slotted the puck past Princeton goaltender Colton Phinney for the overtime game-winning goal. Seniors Kulevich and Finn came out exceptionally strong, with Kulevich scoring the game-winning goal and Finn making 29 saves, 22 of which were in the first two periods.

“I think we came out a little nervous and hesitant but we found our stride, had a really good third period and OT. Hopefully we come out strong tomorrow and get this thing done,” Kulevich said about the first game.

Moving into the second game of the series on Saturday, Finn made a career-high of 51 saves, but the Tigers took the win of game two with a 4-3 victory. Colgate took an early lead by netting two goals during the first period, one by senior offender Derek Freeman and the other by first-year offender Jared Cockrell. The Tigers quickly retaliated by scoring two goals in the second period. The Raiders were able to take the lead again in the end of the second period for a 3-2 lead, but were unable to hold off the Tigers as they scored the tying goal during the third period. Moving into overtime, Princeton was able to pick up a turnover in the neutral zone and skate into the offensive zone, managing to fire a goal past Finn for the game-winning goal in the second straight overtime of the series.  

The series culminated on Sunday night with a disappointing 2-1 loss for the Raiders, with Kulevich nabbing the Raiders’ lone goal in the first period. The team wrapped up its season with an overall record of 9-22-6, and the senior class concluded their careers with 62 total wins. The Raiders have had many ups and downs throughout these past four years. Although this season has been disappointing for the Raiders, especially compared to the more recent previous season, this season was still one that proved to be quite memorable. The seniors led well all season and will be missed.