In the last two weeks, the men’s ice hockey team played strongly against two of the most formidable contenders in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC), with wins over the Dartmouth Big Green and the Harvard Crimson. The Raiders also managed a tie in overtime against the Merrimack Warriors.

On November 16 at 7 p.m. at Starr Rink, the Raiders defeated the Dartmouth Big Green, 5-4. The first period started off slowly. At 4:46 senior Robbie Bourdon had a shot on goal, as did first-year Ryan Johnston at 8:02. The Raiders suffered a penalty on first-year Darcy Murphy at 10:41 for interference. Junior Eric Mihalik in goal had several saves during the period, including at 14:01.

The first minute of the second period started with a strong shot on goal by first-year Mike Borkowski. The next few minutes were largely uneventful. Murphy was handed another penalty for elbowing. At 12:11 and at 12:52, Mihalik had a couple of good saves, unfortunately followed by a couple of goals by Dartmouth, at 14:47 and 16:14, respectively. At 16:53, the team was given a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct, served by senior Christian Long. Seconds later, during the Raider power kill, Dartmouth scored their third goal of the night. During the play on goal, sophomore Spiro Goulakos was given a penalty for tripping. In retaliation, the Raiders had a strong surge toward goal at about 18:20. This culminated in a beautiful Colgate goal during a penalty kill into the top corner by Bourdon, assisted by senior Kurtis Bartliff.

The third period began with a goal by Dartmouth at 1:11, prompting Colgate to switch goalies, putting first-year Spencer Finney in. At 2:26 senior Billy Rivellini had a great shot on goal, which the Dartmouth goalie unfortunately saved. First-year Tyson Spink was given a penalty at 4:21 for boarding. At 9:39, senior captain Jeremy Price scored Colgate’s second goal,

assisted by first-year Tylor Spink.

A few minutes later at 11:36, Bourdon scored his second goal of the evening, making the score 3-4 for Dartmouth. At 12:40, Price made a great play in which he grabbed the puck to turn it toward the Dartmouth goal, followed a minute later by a shot on goal by junior Mike McCann. With only minutes remaining, the play quickened and the Raiders became noticeably more aggressive. At 16:33, sophomore John Lidgett had a strong shot on goal. A minute later, sophomore Joe Wilson managed to break away toward the Dartmouth goal, resulting in a goal at 17:47 by Wilson, assisted by Bourdon and Bartliff. Following the face-off, the Raiders managed to keep the goal behind the blue line, with a shot by Murphy. At 19:30, Bourdon shot a fantastic goal – his third of the evening – assisted by Bartliff and Wilson, giving Colgate a

triumphant 5-4 win.

The next evening, November 17, again at 7 p.m. in Starr Rink, the Raiders played the Harvard Crimson, resulting in a 1-0 Raider win. The starting lineup for Colgate was forwards Bourdon, Wilson and Bartliff, defensemen Goulakos, with Johnston and Finney in goal. Early in the first period, Harvard had a shot on goal, which was saved well by Finney. At 2:09, Colgate retaliated with a shot on the Harvard goal, but to no avail. At 7:30, Harvard was again close to a goal, but Finney was able to save it. Then, Colgate scored their only goal of the night, shot by Price and assisted by Wilson and Bartliff. The remaining minutes were punctuated by strong saves by Finney and shots on goal by Goulakos and by senior captain Thomas Larkin.

The second period began with a shot on goal by Tyson Spink. The play resulted in a checking penalty on Harvard for five minutes. During the Colgate power play, the action was mostly in front of the Harvard goal. At 9:25, Long got a penalty for interference.

Finney made a good save at 11:51, and at about 14:00 the Raiders were able to successfully get the puck away from the Colgate goal. At 18:07 a play resulted in a Harvard player needing medical attention and a major penalty and game misconduct on McCann for contact to the head. The penalty was served by Long.

The third period began with 3:07 left of the Colgate penalty kill. At 5:48, the Raiders received another penalty on Wilson for crosschecking. The next few minutes were largely uneventful, with Colgate neither scoring nor letting any Harvard goals in. At 17:44, Harvard requested a time out. During the last minute, Harvard pulled their goalie. The Raiders had a breakaway, but by 19:19 Harvard managed to bring play back toward the Colgate goal. At 19:37, Harvard requested another time out. During the last seconds, Finney had a series of strong saves, allowing the game to end with a Colgate victory.

During Thanksgiving break on November 23, the Raiders played the Merrimack Warriors at Merrimack. Merrimack scored during the first period, and Wilson, assisted by sophomore Brendan Corcoran, scored the sole Colgate goal during the second period. The game went into overtime, which ended without a goal from either team, resulting in a final score of 1-1.

The Raiders have two games this weekend, both at Starr Rink. On Friday, November 30 at 7 p.m., Colgate will take on the St. Lawrence Saints, and on Saturday, December 1 at 4 p.m., they will play the Clarkson Golden Knights.

Contact Selina Koller at

[email protected].