#19 Raiders Clinch First-Round Bye With Win at #5 Quinnipiac

HAMDEN, Conn. – Sophomore Tylor Spink had his chance to shine after his twin brother’s hat trick last night and he did against No. 5 Quinnipiac.

Colgate (16-11-5, 12-5-3 ECAC) earned the weekend sweep with a 3-1 win over the Bobcats and has earned a first-round bye in the upcoming ECAC Hockey Tournament. The Raiders are five points ahead of Yale, who sits in fifth, with two games to go.

Head coach Don Vaughan said the first round bye is important, but this team has more work to do.

“I’m proud of our guys. They just keep working on improving every day,” Vaughan said. “It’s a process and this group bought in early to what we are trying to do. The first round bye is important, but we know there are tough games ahead. We just try and to get better every day. Again just very proud of the team.”

Spink tried his luck at equaling his brother’s hat trick, but couldn’t find the third goal. He still scored twice, including the gamewinner in the third period. Darcy Murphy added an empty netter with under a minute to go in the game to seal the deal.

“The two of them compete so hard,” Vaughan said of the Spink twins. “I thought this weekend they really created a lot of time and space for themselves. When they get that, they make a lot of plays and that is what good players do.

“We can’t overlook what Kyle Baun does on that line as well. He is hard on the puck and separates as well as any player I’ve ever coached.”

Charlie Finn was excellent in net with 31 saves to help the Raiders earn their second first-round bye in the last two seasons. The Raiders have tallied seven wins this season against ranked opponents and are 5-1-3 against top-20 teams in 2014.

Quinnipiac (21-8-5, 11-6-3 ECAC) got its lone goal from Connor Jones on the power play, but the Bobcats’ best player was Martin Garteig. He stoned the Raiders on multiple breakaways or the margin could have been larger. He made a total of 21 saves on the night.

The Raiders had three chances on the power play in the first period, but couldn’t get one past Garteig. Quinnipiac did a great job getting in shooting lanes and blocking shots. The Bobcats had the best chance in the first and celebrated as if they had scored. However, the official waved off the play and his call was upheld after a review.

Quinnipiac had an 8-5 shot advantage even with Colgate’s three power plays. The Bobcats came into the game with the second-ranked penalty kill in the nation at 90.5 percent.

Spink broke the ice with 10:46 left in the second with a great wrist shot from the slot. He was able to gain control of the puck behind the net. Spink then circled around in front of Garteig and fired a well-placed wrister through traffic to give Colgate the 1-0 lead.

The Bobcats evened it up on the power play just 1:37 after the Raiders took the lead. Devon Toews spotted Matthew Peca with a cross-ice pass. Peca connected with a  one-timer from the right circle and Connor Jones tipped it in past Finn to tie the score.

Still in the second, Colgate had a great chance to regain the lead with a five-minute power play. The best chance came on a 3-on-1 for the Raiders as Quinnipiac was caught up ice. John Lidgett broke into the zone and flipped a pass over to Freeman on the doorstep. He redirected the pass, but Garteig sprawled out across the crease. He got a piece of the shot with the paddle of his stick to keep it a tie game going into the third.

The third period started with another Quinnipiac power play, but the Raiders were able to kill it off to keep the game tied.

Spink then gave the Raiders the lead in the third period with his second of the night. He picked up a blocked clearing pass in front of Garteig. He waited out the Quinnipiac netminder and made his make the first move. He went down and Spink shot it over the pad for the 2-1 lead.

Murphy’s empty net goal completed the weekend sweep with a 3-1 win as he took the shot from the redline. Quinnipiac outshot the Raiders, 32-24, and went 1-for-4 on the power play. Colgate failed to score on the power play in four chances.

The Raiders close out the regular season next weekend with Harvard and Dartmouth coming to Hamilton. Colgate will honor its two seniors prior to the game against the Big Green on Saturday.

Spink Hat Trick Pounds Princeton, 6-1

Tyson Nets Three in Key Road Win as No. 19 Raiders Move into Second-Place Tie

PRINCETON, N.J. – It’s a Hobey house of horrors no more.

Tyson Spink scored his first collegiate hat trick and Charlie Finn stopped 24 shots as 19th-ranked Colgate breezed past Princeton 6-1 here Friday night.

The Raiders improved to 2-0-2 in their last four games and climbed into a second-place tie in the ECAC Hockey standings. They did so by reversing their recent fortunes at Hobey Baker Arena, where Colgate had lost its last three visits and four of its last five at the fabled hockey barn.

“After the tie last Saturday, as soon as the game ended, we turned our attention and our focus to this game,” Raiders head coach Don Vaughan said. “It’s a building we’ve not had a lot of success in. There’s no denying that; it’s not a secret.

“So we talked about it immediately, the guys had a great week of practice and they were feeling pretty good coming in here.”

Spink looked to be feeling the best, because the sophomore winger needed only 2 minutes and 12 seconds to begin the top goal-scoring night of his collegiate career. His early strike staked the Raiders to a 1-0 lead and led to Colgate’s third hat trick of the season.

“I was going tonight,” Spink said. “I had a lot of chances around the net. Give credit to my linemates; they played really well, Ty and Baun. Our entire team skated really well tonight and that was a big difference.

One in Each Period

Spink scored a goal in each period and his linemates assisted on all three: Kyle Baun in the first and twin brother Tylor Spink in the second and third. Tyson’s night was almost even crazier as he hit a post late in the first period.

“He and his brother find each other, and with Kyle Baun there’s a lot of chemistry,” Vaughan said. “Kyle separates the puck from the opposition and the other two guys just seem to find each other in traffic.

“They did that again tonight. They’re fun to watch.”

Princeton’s only interruption to the Colgate onslaught came when Jack Berger scored from right in front at 9:17 of the second period. But Tyson Spink answered with his second goal just a minute and a half later to put the Raiders in front for keeps.

They took command with a four-goal third, started by Mike Borkowski scoring just 1:10into the period. Princeton committed a 5-minute major penalty a minute later and Spink completed his hat trick at 3:39. Ryan Johnston added a goal at 6:14 and then Joe Wilson scored on a breakaway with six minutes left to cap the scoring.

Another Four-Goal Third

That four-goal period matched the team’s best 20-minute stretch of the season, duplicating the four-goal third in a carbon-copy 6-1 win over Cornell just two weeks ago.

“We played a good game from start to finish,” Vaughan said. “We were a little bit snake-bitten around the net in the first, and then Princeton had some energy in the second.

“Scoring early in the third was big for us and then, obviously, the five-minute major turned the tide completely. But getting that goal early in the third was big for us.”

Charlie Finn improved his ECAC Hockey record to 10-2-3 and won his 12th start overall. The freshman was surrounded by quality defense all night, and Colgate’s offensive pressure was such that he saw only four Princeton shots in the third period.

“The D and the forwards did a really phenomenal job letting me see the puck and taking away secondary scoring chances,” Finn said. “It was mostly one-and-dones, which makes a goaltender’s job a lot easier.

“We felt very good coming into this game. Obviously, we tied two very competitive teams last weekend. But whether this team is in last place or second place, there’s so much parity in this league that they’re still a very talented team. They have a couple of looks on the power play and they can sting you if you’re not on top of your game.”

In addition to the Spink duo, Wilson also had a two-point night by assisting on Johnston’s goal. Other assists went to Darcy Murphy on Borkowski’s goal, and Brendan Corcoran and John Lidgett on the Wilson nightcap.

“Coming in we knew this was a big game for us,” Tyson Spink said. “We didn’t have a very good outing in this rink last year, so we needed to work hard and we played a really good team game tonight.

“Coach was stressing that we needed to work hard and out-compete these guys, and we did that.

56-Shot Night

Colgate outshot Princeton 56-25 and finished with four penalties for eight minutes to the Tigers’ nine for 29. Colton Phinney took the loss for Princeton, allowing five goals before being relieved by Ryan Benitez for the final 12½ minutes.

“The game’s physical and our guys did a good job holding their composure, especially when you get up by that many goals,” Vaughan said. “But I was proud of our effort. Jake Kulevich on the back end had a really good night for us and we closed quickly in our own zone. We were able to get it out of our end quickly and out of trouble.

“Overall, I was happy.”

Vaughan also had to be pleased that it was such a good night for Colgate in the ECAC Hockey standings – in both directions.

Looking forward, the Raiders pulled into a dead heat with Quinnipiac, which lost 2-1Friday at home to Cornell and now hosts Colgate in a head-to-head battle for second place Saturday at 7 p.m. in Hamden, Conn. The Raiders also moved four points clear of the fifth-place team after Clarkson was blanked at Union. Yale takes over fifth with 21 points and only three games remaining.

Colgate improved to 15-11-5 overall and 11-5-3 in conference play. The top four regular season finishers earn a first-round bye.

“We’ve got a great group,” Vaughan said. “It’s the best team I think I’ve ever had in terms of the character in the room and the camaraderie. We’ve had some great teams, but this one’s really special.”

Hobart College junior Terrence O’Neill (Kearny, N.J.) scored the game-winning goal 56 seconds into overtime to give the Statesmen a 3-2 victory over host Elmira in an ECAC West contest played at the Soaring Eagles’ Murray Athletic Center. The Statesmen improve to 12-8-4 overall and 6-5-3 in the ECAC West.

It’s the eighth time this season the Statesmen have gone to overtime. Junior Brad McBride (Lone Tree, Colo.) and sophomore Ben Gamache (Longlac, Ontario) each scored for Hobart. Sophomore goalie Lino Chimienti (Montreal, Ontario) played 60:19 in goal and finished with 38 saves.

The Statesmen have now clinched the No. 3 seed in the ECAC West Tournament and will host the No. 6 seed in a first round game on Wednesday, Feb. 26 at 7 p.m.

Elmira falls to 14-9-1 and 9-4-1 in conference. Michael Collins led the Soaring Eagles with a goal and an assist. Ryan de Melo played 60:52 in goal and turned aside 50 shots.

Hobart jumped out to a 1-0 lead just 5:46 into the game. McBride tipped in a backhanded shot by classmate Peter Ryan (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.). It was his sixth goal this season. Elmira answered with 7:40 left in the first. Alexander Taulien scored off passes from Jesper Strale and Collins. With just under five minutes left in the opening period, junior Bronson Kovacs (Sault Ste Marie, Ontario) came inches away from scoring, as his shot on a short-handed breakaway clanged off the right post.

It appeared that the Statesmen had scored with 6:01 left in the second period. After a series of quick passes right in front of the goal, it looked like junior Tommaso Traversa (Torino, Italy) had tipped in the puck, however, the goal was called off as the referees said it was kicked across the line. With 2:14 left in the second period, the Soaring Eagles did take a 2-1 lead on a short-handed goal. Collins lifted a shot into the top left corner off an assist from Greg Whittle.

With 1:17 left in the third period after an Elmira timeout, Hobart pulled Chimienti for the extra skater. With 45 seconds left in regulation, Gamache sent home the game-tying goal off an assist from sophomore Mac Olson (Grosse Pointe, Mich.). It was Gamache’s 10th goal this year. On a power play and just 56 seconds into overtime, O’Neill scored the game winner, his third goal this season, after passes from sophomore Bo Webster (Aurora, Ontario) and junior Ryan Michel (Camillus, N.Y.).

The Statesmen held a 53-40 advantage in shots. Hobart went 1-for-4 on the power play, while Elmira finished 1-for-5.

Pittsburgh, Pa. – Robert Morris scored four goals in the third period to rally for a 4-1 victory against the Canisius College hockey team on Friday night. The loss drops the Griffs to 11-17-3 on the season and 10-11-3 against Atlantic Hockey foes, while the Colonials improve to 13-14-4 and 13-7-4 in league play.

“The difference of the game tonight was the first six minutes of the third period,” said Canisius head coach Dave Smith. “I did not have our team ready to play like we did for the first 40 minutes and the last 14 minutes.”

Junior Braeden Rigney (Singhampton, Ontario) netted the lone goal for the Griffs.

Senior Tony Capobianco (Mississauga, Ontario) recorded 26 saves to anchor the Canisius defense on the night.

After a scoreless first period, Rigney netted the game’s first goal with 10:28 remaining in the second. On a rush, the junior knocked in his own rebound for his eighth tally of the season. Junior defender Logan Roe (Fort Myers, Fla.) and senior Ryan Bohrer (West St. Paul, Minn.) both registered assists on RIgney’s goal to give Canisius a 1-0 lead.

The Colonials answered with two goals early in the third period just 66 seconds apart. A loose puck in the Canisius zone was poked ahead to Tyson Wilson, who was behind the Canisius defense. Wilson finished his chance to tie the game at one just 35 seconds into the third.

Jeff Jones then quickly gave Robert Morris the lead just 66 seconds later. Jones forced a Canisius turnover in its own zone and then beat Capobianco 1-on-1 for the 2-1 lead with 18:19 remaining.

Robert Morris was then able to extend its lead with its third goal in less than six minutes of action. Zac Lynch finished off a 3-on-2 rush with 13:55 remaining in the period to give the Colonials a 3-1 advantage.

The Colonials finished their strong final frame with an empty-net goal to earn the 4-1 victory.

Canisius finished the game with a 36-30 advantage in shots, while neither team was able to capitalize on two power-play chances.

Terry Shafer recorded 35 saves in net to earn the victory for the Colonials.

ERIE, Pa. – Niagara hockey battled back from two goals down and earned a hard-fought 3-3 tie with league-leading Mercyhurst on Friday night in conference action on the Mercyhurst Ice Center.

The Lakers (17-12-6; 15-4-5 AHA) jumped out to a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes of play, but the Purple Eagles (10-16-5; 10-9-5 AHA) were able to fight back into the contest first from a pair of goals down, and then from a goal down in the third period to send the contest into extra time.

The Lakers had a power play opportunity in the opening minutes of overtime, getting five looks on net, but the NU penalty killing unit kept its opponent at bay while a man-up for the third consecutive game.

“We weren’t happy with our first period.  We told the guys after during intermission that it wasn’t a good effort from us despite getting 11 shots on goal,” said head coach Dave Burkholder.   “After challenging the team after the period they came out ready to go in the second.  If we play like we did in the last 40 minutes can win every game in Atlantic Hockey.  The work ethic was there.  The hitting was there.  Second opportunities were taken advantage of.  It was a very good hockey game from both ends.  I’m very pleased with the effort.”

Starting Niagara goaltender Jackson Teichroeb pushed his record to 4-10-3 on the season with 33 stops on the evening.  For the second consecutive evening NU was able to muster a 40-shot effort, firing 47 shots on Mercyhurst goaltender Jimmy Sarjeant.

Niagara went 0-for-1 on the power play, and stopped all three Mercyhurst man-up opportunities.

“I told Teichroeb at the start of the game that it was his net,” Burkholder added.  “I think this team could jump on his back for the rest of the season.  I thought he made a few huge saves, especially during Mercyhurst’s power play in overtime.  That’s exactly what we need back there.”

Niagara found itself in an early hole just 3:58 into the contest as Daniel Bahntge picked up his 15th goal of the season.  Senior center Daniel O’Donoghue spotted Bahntge streaking toward the net, and connected with the junior, who beat Teichroeb over the shoulder.

Despite the Purple and White picking up play as the period wore on, outshooting the Lakers 11-10, NU saw its deficit extend to a pair of goals in the waning minutes of the stanza.  Stephen Hrehoriak picked up a missed opportunity by Randy Cure behind the net and found Chris Bodo at the top of the slot whose shot snuck through the traffic and found the back of the net.

It only took 1:03 into the second period for Niagara to slice Mercyhurst’s lead in half as Vince Muto grabbed his fourth goal of the year to make it 2-1.  The play started off Hugo Turcotte’s strong play behind the cage as he was able to fight off a Laker defenseman and push the puck to Muto at the top of the right faceoff circle, who held the puck before firing a wrist shot top shelf past Sarjeant.

The Purple Eagles continued to press and saw their efforts pay off again less than four minutes later as an initial shot by Stephen Pietrobon was blocked by Philippe Drouin in front of the net, but the freshman made sure he cashed on his second attempt to even the game at two apiece.

Turcotte came close to giving NU its first lead of the contest just minutes later as the sophomore raced in on Sargeant on a breakaway, but his forehand attempt, stick side was stymied by the outstretched pads of the goalie.

On the other end, Teichroeb was just as solid, coming up big in the later stages of the frame to keep the score even heading into the final period.  Nardo Nagtzaam corralled a cross-ice pass from Kyle Dutra just outside the crease, but he saw what appeared to be the go-ahead goal robbed by Teichroeb with a sliding stop.

The third period saw the squads trade goals in the opening four minutes to make it a 4-4 contest.  The Lakers regained their lead just 54 seconds into the period off the stick of Hrehoriak, but Niagara’s TJ Sarcona knotted the game at the 3:22 mark off his 11th of the year.  Isaac Kohls began to play, racing into the Mercyhurst zone and keeping control of the puck despite pressure from the Lakers’ defense.  The junior skated behind the cage and spotted an open Sarcona whose short-range blast beat Sarjeant up high.

Hrehoriak had a golden opportunity to give the Lakers the lead with less than 10 minutes left in regular, but his breakaway opportunity was thwarted by Teichroeb.

Canisius (11-16-3, 10-10-3 AHA) vs. Robert Morris (12-14-4, 12-7-4 AHA)
Dates: Friday, February 21 / Saturday, February 22
Times: 7:05 p.m. / 7:05 p.m.
Locations: Pittsburgh, Pa. / Buffalo, N.Y.
TV/Webcast: America One Network
Live Audio: GoGriffs.com
DI Series History: Robert Morris leads, 9-5-1

With just two weekends remaining in the regular season, the Canisius College hockey team squares off with Robert Morris for two games this weekend. The schools are set to meet on Friday in Pittsburgh and on Saturday in Buffalo with both games slated for 7:05 p.m.

SCOUTING THE GRIFFS
• Canisius (11-16-3, 9-9-3 AHA) split a two-game series last weekend with Air Force, claiming a 4-0 win to go along with a 4-2 loss.
• Senior Kyle Gibbons leads Canisius with 29 points, 13 goals and eight power-play tallies this season.
• Senior Tony Capobianco owns a 3.07 goals against average and .907 save percentage in 20 starts this season with a 7-10-2 record.

AHA TOURNAMENT UPDATE
• The Griffs enter the second-to-last weekend of the regular season in seventh place of the Atlantic Hockey standings with four games left.
• Canisius clinches home ice for the first round with two more wins.
• The Griffs are also six points back of fourth place. Canisius needs to gain at least two points on Air Force or Connecticut this weekend to remain in contention for a first-round bye.

GIBBONS NAMED SENIOR CLASS AWARD FINALIST
• Kyle Gibbons was named one of 10 finalists nationally for the Senior CLASS Award on Wednesday.
• An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the award recognizes achievements in four areas of excellence – classroom, character, community and competition.
• Fans can vote for Gibbons at www.SeniorClassAward.com
• CLICK HERE TO VOTE FOR KYLE GIBBONS
• Gibbons leads the Griffs with 29 points and 13 goals this season.

STRONG START, FLAT FINISH
• Canisius has played much better in the first game of series this season.
• In two-game Atlantic Hockey series against the same team, the Griffs are 6-2-1 in the first contest.
• However, Canisius has responded with just a 2-5-2 mark in the second game.

CANISIUS – ROBERT MORRIS SERIES HISTORY
• In 15 all-time meetings between the two schools, Robert Morris holds a 9-5-1 advantage.
• The Colonials are also 7-3-0 against the Griffs in Atlantic Hockey play.
• Robert Morris has won the last four games in the series – all in the last two years.
• The Colonials cruised to a 6-1 victory in Pittsburgh earlier in the season.

ABOUT THE COLONIALS
• Robert Morris enters as one of the hottest teams in the nation, going 10-2-2 since the beginning of January. Overall, the Colonials are 12-14-4 and sit in fifth place in the Atlantic Hockey standings with a 12-7-4 league mark.
• Cody Wydo leads Robert Morris with 37 points and 21 goals. Zac Lynch is second with 32 points, including a team-best 17 assists.
• Terry Shafer has started 27-of-30 games in net, posting a 12-12-4 record, 2.74 goals against average and .920 save percentage.