It was a big weekend for the Raiders as they had two tough opponents on their slate. These matchups were guaranteed to go a long way in determining the standings as conference play in the ECAC comes to a close. After picking up a 1-1 tie against Rensselaer, the Raiders followed up with a hard-fought tie against No. 3 Union. With the two ties, the Raiders remain in third place in the league.

The Raiders came out against Rensselaer looking for a win against a mid-conference team. Colgate had previously lost at Rensselaer, but they felt they could shift momentum at home at Starr Rink. The Raiders were led by first-year goalie Charlie Finn in net, who came up big for the Raiders, recording 40 saves against a tough Engineers attack.

Colgate got on the board early in the matchup and played a very conservative game for almost the entirety of the contest. With five minutes remaining in the first period, junior forward John Lidgett scored his first of the season off assists from senior forward Mike McCann and sophomore defenseman Kevin Lough.

For the remainder of the game, the Raiders went on the defensive, doing their best to ensure their lead and hold off an onslaught of pressure from the Engineers. The Raiders penalty kill kept up its strong play, killing off four Engineers penalties. Their power play, unfortunately, could not get anything going in any of the six chances they had all game.It wasn’t until a minute left that the Engineers could finally break through. After 16 big saves in the third period, Finn faltered and the Engineers finally were able to get on the board and tie the game up at one.

Immediately following the first Engineers goal, it seemed as if they had taken the lead just seconds later after the puck ended up in the net off a scrum in front of Finn. The referees, however, went to the video monitor and determined that the goal would not stand. Neither team found much momentum in the short five minute overtime period, as the Engineers got off just two shots and the Raiders could not muster anything against the stout Rensselaer defense. The Raiders ended the game at a 1-1 tie and looked to change the result the next night.

With the No. 3 Union Dutchmen in town the next night, the Raiders did not have much time to decompress their tie. The Raiders could not waste anytime thinking about what could have been against such a tough and worthy opponent. The Raiders did exactly what they needed and got off to a very hot start against the Dutchmen.

The Raiders scored just seven minutes into the contest after the Dutchmen controlled much of the first few minutes of play. Junior captain Spiro Goulakos made a nifty move and shot the puck past the goalie off assists from sophomore forwards Tyson and Tylor Spink. The Raiders extended their lead just a minute later as first-year Andrew Black scored off assists from fellow lines mates first-year forward Tim Harrison and junior forward Joe Wilson.

The Dutchmen, however, would not sit back and let the Raiders take the game. The Dutchmen scored their first goal of the game just six minutes later and added a second one with just under three minutes remaining to tie the game up at two. In what would turn out to be a very high scoring first period, the Raiders got the last goal in, as sophomore forward Darcy Murphy converted on the Raiders power play with 46 seconds remaining to give the Raiders the 3-2 advantage going into the first intermission.

In a much more low-scoring second period, the Raiders got on the board and extended their lead to 4-2. On the power play once again, Wilson put the puck in the net for the Raiders off assists from Murphy and sophomore defenseman Ryan Johnston. The Raiders two-goal advantage was short-lived, however, when the Dutchmen responded just five minutes later as Finn couldn’t handle a long shot that ended up trickling by him for

the goal.

The Raiders maintained their 4-3 lead for the remainder of the second period and the first 15 minutes of the final frame. It was an unlucky bounce that cost the Raiders their lead as the puck ricocheted off Finn’s stick straight to the Dutchmen forward who moved to the side of Finn and put the puck in the net to tie up the game. The remainder of the third period and overtime frames were back-and-forth with neither team giving anything up. At the end of the extra five-minutes, the score remained tied. Both teams left Starr Rink with their heads held high after a strong 65 minutes on both ends.

This weekend the Raiders have the final road trip of the season as they head to Princeton to take on the Tigers on Friday night and then to Hamden to take on the Quinnipiac Bobcats Saturday night. The puck drops at 7 p.m. for both games

this weekend.

Contact Spencer Serling at [email protected].