Rookie Goalie Makes 38 Stops to Lead Colgate

HAMILTON – Rookie Charlie Finn had 38 saves between the pipes as the Colgate men’s hockey team earned a 3-1 win on Saturday night in ECAC Hockey action.

Colgate (7-7-1, 5-3-0 ECAC) saw Kyle Baun tally three points with a goal and two assists, while Mike Borkowski added a goal and an assist for two points. Darcy Murphy scored the final goal of the night for his seventh of the year.

Brown (3-5-1, 1-4-1 ECAC) got its single goal from Joe Prescott with assists to Matt Harlow and Garnet Hathaway. Marco De Filippo got the start in net and made 26 saves.

It took around seven minutes left in the first period for the teams to get going and the Raiders took the 1-0 lead with a shorthanded goal from Baun. The sophomore netted his seventh of the season after a nice pass from Borkowski. Baun broke in along on De Filippo and went forehand to backhand for the score.

Brown evened it up at 1-1 with 3:45 left in the first period with Prescott scoring a power play goal. The Bears had a 3-on-1 on the power play and Hathaway found Prescott trailing on the play and slipped the puck back to him. Hathaway beat Finn to the glove side to get Brown on the board.

The Raiders regained the lead exactly a minute later with Borkowski’s sniper shot from the right circle. Tyson Spink found Borkowski on the wing and he ripped a snap shot that beat De Filippo to the glove side and under the bar to give Colgate a 2-1 lead into the first intermission.

In the second period, Colgate had a golden opportunity to increase its lead with a full two minutes of 5-on-3 power play time. The Raiders fired a few shots on De Filippo, but the netminder kept the Bears within one as the teams went scoreless in the middle frame.

The score stayed the same until Murphy scored on the empty net with 1:03 left in the game. Baun got the puck behind the net and fed it out to Murphy and he beat a diving Brown defender to give the Raiders the 3-1 win.

Finn was a major reason Colgate hung on against the Bears as he made 18 stops in the final period. Brown finished with a 39-29 shot advantage. The Bears also scored the lone power play goal of the night on four chances. Colgate went 0-for-5 with the man advantage.

Colgate has next weekend off and is back on the ice at Lynah Rink on Dec. 7 against rival Cornell.

For the second night in a row the No. 14 Hobart College hockey team and No. 7 Utica battled to overtime, but this time the Pioneers came away with a 3-2 victory in an ECAC West game played at The Cooler. It was the first loss for the Statesmen (2-2-4 overall, 2-1-3 ECAC West) in conference play.

Utica is now 6-1-1 overall and 5-1-1 in the ECAC West. Adam Graff led the Pioneers with two goals, including the game-winner in overtime, and an assist. Marcus Zeizer played all 64:31 in goal for Utica and made 36 saves.

Six out of Hobart’s eight games have gone into overtime this season. Sophomore Bo Webster (Aurora, N.Y.) and junior Terrence O’Neill (Kearny, N.J.) scored for Statesmen. Sophomore Lino Chimienti (Montreal, Quebec) finished with 30 saves.

Hobart struck first in the opening period. Webster capitalized on a drop pass from junior Brad McBride (Lone Tree, Colo.), scoring a power-play goal top shelf over the right shoulder of Utica’s goalie. Junior Ryan Michel (Camillus, N.Y.) also earned an assist. It was Webster’s second goal this year.

The Statesmen took a 2-0 lead in the second period. O’Neill followed up on a loose puck that was bouncing in front of the net. He knocked it in for another power-play goal moments before the goal came off. Senior Tommy Fiorentino was credited with the assist.

Utica broke through in the third period. Jide Idowu scored off a rush, maneuvering through traffic and reaching around the Hobart goalie for a low shot. Graff and Trever Hertz registered the assists.

The Pioneers held a 6-1 advantage in shots in the overtime period. The Statesmen took a penalty4:09 in, and Utica took advantage of the power play. Graff scored through a scramble in front of the net.

Hobart held a 38-34 edge in shots. The Statesmen went 2-for-4 on the power play and the Pioneers finished 1-for-4.

Hobart will be back in action on Dec. 7 when they travel to take on Wesleyan in a non-conference game at 4 p.m.

The SUNY Potsdam men’s hockey team (1-6) scored a season-high five goals to down SUNY Canton (1-6-1) 5-3 for its first win since returning to Maxcy Ice Arena this season. Freshman forward Vinny Caligiuri (Shoreham, N.Y./Hartford Wolfpack) led the Bears with a goal and an assist for his first collegiate points. Senior defenseman Cory Giczewski (Fountain Valley, Calif./Laconia Leafs) paced the Roos with two goals.

Canton struck on its very first shot of the game. Junior forward Lee Melde (Proctor, Minn./Williston State) wristed a shot over the right shoulder of Potsdam senior goalie Shane Talarico(Greensburg, Pa./Elmira College) for a 1-0 lead at 2:46. Freshman forward Nick Vasilopolous (Montreal, Quebec/Brooks) assisted on the tally. The Bears responded with good pressure, but didn’t break through until their first power play opportunity 10 minutes later. Junior forward Trevor Cope (Swartz Creek, Mich./Atlanta Jr. Knights) scored with a tough angle shot from the left side of the net. Sophomore forward Todd Thomas (Davidsville, Pa./Hartford Wolfpack) and junior defenseman Max Fogel (Williamsville, N.Y./Buffalo Jr. Sabres) recorded the assists. Potsdam jumped in front with a second power-play goal at 16:39. Sophomore forwardBilly Pascalli (Deer Park, N.Y./New York Bobcats) tipped a shot from the point past Canton sophomore goalie Louie Puig (Chicago, Ill./Soo Eagles). The Bears outshot the Roos 19-8 in the first period.

The Roos tied the score on the power play just 1:18 into the middle period. Giczewski tucked a shot between Talarico’s left pad and the right post to make it 2-2. Sophomore forward Kristian Leach (Indianapolis, Ind./Kenai River Brown Bears) notched the assist. Nine minutes later, Caligiuri scored his first goal as a Bear after a rebound in front of the Canton goal to put the Bears up for good. Junior forward Ken Simon (Norwell, Mass./Philadelphia Revolution) and junior defenseman Dan McCamey (Dayton, Ohio/Minnesota Flying Aces) assisted on the goal.

Junior assistant captain Ryan Miller (Didsbury, Alberta/Arizona State) gave Potsdam a 4-2 advantage on helpers from Caligiuri and junior forward Zach Blake (Campbellford, Ontario/Plattsburgh State) at 8:39 of the third period. Senior captain Mike Arnold(Didsbury, Alberta/Kingston Voyageurs) made it 5-2 at 18:06 with an assist from Thomas. It appeared as though Potsdam would skate off with the three goal victory, but the Roos converted on a neutral zone turnover to score with just a second left. Giczewski roofed a pass from Vasilopolous for a shorthanded tally to close out the game at 5-3.

Talarico earned his fourth career victory with 20 saves. Puig took the loss with 39 stops. Potsdam outshot Canton 44-23 on the night. The Bears were 2-6 on the man advantage and Canton went 1-4.

GENEVA, N.Y.–The No. 14 Hobart College hockey team played through 65 minutes to a 3-3 overtime tie with No. 7 Utica in an ECAC West game tonight at The Cooler. The Statesmen are now 2-1-4 overall and 2-0-3 in conference play, while the Pioneers are 5-1-1 overall and 4-1-1 in the ECAC West.

It’s the second straight tie for Hobart and the fifth overtime game this season for the Statesmen. Hobart was down 3-2 in the third period, and pulled sophomore goalie Lino Chimienti (Montreal/Quebec) for an extra skater with 57 seconds on the clock. Three seconds after pulling their goalie, junior Keith Clarke (Westmeath, Ontario) tipped in a blast from junior Ryan Michel from the blue line to tie the game for the Statesmen at 3-3 and eventually send it to overtime.

Sophomore Bo Webster (Aurora/Ontario) led Hobart with a goal and two assists. Chimienti finished with 25 saves in 64:57 in goal. Three different Pioneers scored, and Nick Therrien played all 65 minutes in goal for Utica and stopped 38 shots.

Just 7:16 into the first period, junior Robert Sovik (Prague, Czech Republic) put the Statesmen on the board. Webster had just finished serving a penalty and as he was coming out of the box he received a long pass from first-year Jon Neal (Encinitas, Calif.). Webster fed the puck to Sovik who buried it for his fourth goal of the season.

At 11:41 in the first, Peter LaFosse tied things up for Utica. After Chimienti denied two shots by LaFosse, his persistence paid off as he sent home the loose puck through the crowd in front of the net for a shorthanded goal for the Pioneers.

With 1:40 left in the opening period, Webster lifted a shot into the top left corner of the goal off a pass across the top of the faceoff circle from junior Terrence O’Neill (Kearny, N.J.). Junior Brad McBride (Lone Tree, Colo.) also earned an assist on the play. Webster’s first goal this season gave the Statesmen a 2-1 advantage.

The Pioneers came out strong in the second half, scoring twice to take a 3-2 lead. Rob Morton scored a shorthanded goal 11:12 into the second on a rush off a pass from Trever Hertz. At 15:52, Kevin Kirisits took advantage of a Utica 5-on-3 power play. Shortly after the Pioneers won a faceoff, Kirisits wound up for slap shot from the point and beat Chimienti to the lower left side of the goal. Mike Baird and Justin Hogan were credited with the assists.

The Statesmen were called for a penalty with 3:03 left in the final period. Hobart killed Utica’s power play, and then pulled its goalie for an extra skater. Clarke tipped in the game-tying goal with 54 seconds left in regulation. Webster and Michel earned the assists.

Utica held a 3-2 advantage in shots in the extra period, and had a power play for the final 1:50, but the Statesmen held off the Pioneers for the tie.

Hobart held a 41-28 advantage in total shots. Utica finished 1-for-8 on the power play and killed off all five of the Statesmen’s power plays.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The Niagara hockey team was handed a 6-0 drubbing by the No. 5 Michigan Wolverines on November 22  at the Yost Ice Arena.

Despite being down 3-0 heading into the final period, the game was tightly contested as U-M held a slim 24-23 advantage in shots.  Michigan’s third period scoring outburst however, dug the Purple Eagles into a 6-0 hole to keep NU winless on the road thus far.  The loss drops the Purple Eagles to 3-8-1 on the season, while the Wolverines improve to 8-2-1 overall.

“It was a classic game.  It came down to Michigan being able to capitalize on all its great opportunities on some really good plays by some really good players, and we weren’t able to,” head coach Dave Burkholder said.  “The scoreboard doesn’t really reflect how the game was played.  It was a pretty good game for both sides.  The shots were even and the scoring chances were even, but we weren’t able to capitalize on the chances we had.”

Michigan wasted no time in putting a dent on the scoreboard, scoring 34 seconds into the contest to grab a 1-0 lead.  Derek DeBlois corralled a cross-ice feed at the near boards, and dished a pass across the top of the blue paint to Tyler Motte who buried it past Niagara goaltender Jackson Teichroeb for his fifth tally of the season.

Michigan brought its fans to its feet for the second time in the opening frame with 3:50 remaining as Andrew Copp scored his sixth goal of the year via assists by Motte and Phil Di Giuseppe.   Picking up a cross-ice feed from Motte at the blue line, Di Giuseppe skated to the top of the right circle before sneaking the puck through traffic to Copp who tucked it inside the far post before Teichroeb could get there.

Despite being down a pair of goals, Niagara headed into the first break with a slim 11-10 advantage in shots.  Both teams went 0-for-1 on the power play.

It was all Niagara in the opening half of the second period, outshooting its opponent 7-5 in the first 10 minutes, but despite the Purple Eagles’ offensive efforts it was Michigan that found the back of the net, increasing its cushion to three goals with 9:30 remaining in the second.  Latching onto the rebound from an unsuccessful shot from linemate Luke Moffatt, Alex Kile one-timed the puck top shelf to make it 3-0.

Isaac Kohls registered the Purple Eagles’ best opportunity after the third U-M goal, racing in on Nagelvoort, unleashing a backhand at the top of the crease that was snuffed by the Michigan goalie.

The opening minutes of the final period was a mirror image of the second, as the Purple Eagles came out with several golden chances including a 2-on-1 opportunity that resulted in Patrick Divjak‘s one-timer from the slot being pushed aside by Nagelvoort.  Niagara’s hopes in a comeback diminished about midway through the frame as Michigan received a pair of goals from Alex Guptill and Copp added his second of the game in a span of five minutes.

Teichroeb wrapped up the evening with 32 saves.  The shot advantage was held by Michigan, getting 38 looks on net compared to Niagara’s 36.  The Purple Eagles went 0-for-2 on the power play, and Michigan went 1-for-3 while on the man advantage.

HAMILTON – The Colgate men’s hockey team saw Derek Freeman score his first collegiate goal, but it wasn’t enough against ninth-ranked Yale in a 5-2 loss at Starr Rink on November 22.

Colgate (6-7-1, 4-3-0 ECAC) also got a goal from Kyle Baun, which was his sixth of the season and tied him for the team lead. Rookies Jake Kulevich, Tim Harrison and Emilio Audi recorded points tonight with each handing out assists. Erik Mihalik was the starting netminder and made 32 saves.

The Bulldogs (6-1-2, 3-0-2 ECAC) saw Jesse Root add two goals in the win, while Mike Doherty had a goal and two helpers for a game-high three points. Alex Lyon pushed aside 18 shots in the win.

Yale took the 1-0 lead with 12 minutes left in the opening period with Carson Cooper scoring his second of the season with assists to Trent Ruffolo and Tommy Fallen. Cooper swooped in on the loose puck in front as the initial shot was blocked down by the Colgate defense. The Raiders couldn’t find the puck in the scrum and Cooper put the Bulldogs on top.

Colgate spent some time in the box during the first period with five penalties for 10 minutes. The Raiders were able to kill of a 5-on-3 advantage following Cooper’s goal, but Yale made it 2-0 with 6:07left. The Bulldogs were on their fourth power play of the period and Root tallied his fifth of the year. Doherty put a shot on net that Mihalik pushed to the side, but Root was there for the put back.

The teams gave the fans a lot of entertainment in the second period with four total goals. Colgate got it started with its first of the game coming on a wild play. Tim Harrison cleared the puck from the neutral zone into the Yale end. Lyon went to play the puck behind the net, but it deflected off the officials skate and to the front of the net. Freeman was there for the sliding shot that beat Lyon to the goal line and the Yale deficit was down to one at 2-1.

The Bulldogs answered back with two goals in a 1:35 span to open up a 4-1 lead. Chris Izmirlian gave Yale a 3-1 advantage with his second of the year with an assist to Orzetti. Doherty put the visitors up 4-1 with a power play goal with 5:20 left in the second period.

Baun sliced the lead down to 4-2 with 1:03 left in the frame with a great tip in front of the net on the power play. Spiro Goulakos fired a shot from the point that went off of Baun’s stick and hit a Yale defender. The puck then rang off the post and in for Baun’s team-leading fourth power play goal of the season.

Yale added the final goal of the game with 57 seconds left with Root adding the empty-netter.

The Bulldogs went 2-for-5 on the man advantage, while the Raiders scored once on three chances. Yale outshot Colgate, 37-20, in the game.

Three different players scored goals as the Potsdam women’s hockey team defeated Cortland, 3-1, Saturday afternoon in ECAC West action at Alumni Arena. With the loss, the Red Dragons fell to 1-5-2 overall and 0-3-1 in the conference, while the Bears improved to 3-4-2 and 2-3-2.
Senior Gina Tomei (Bronx/Sound Shore Warriors) scored Cortland’s goal and also won 21-of-30 faceoffs. Sophomores Katie Gili (Brooklyn/New Jersey Rockets) and Niamh O’Connor (Paramus, NJ/New Jersey Rockets) assisted on the score. Sophomore goalie Deanna Meunier (Parsippany, NJ/New Jersey Rockets) made 38 saves.
Junior Izzy Fayerman (Calgary, AB/The Edge) led Potsdam with one goal and one assist. Freshmen Jordan Ott (Hilton/Rochester Edge) and Amanda Peterson (West Chazy/Chazy Flyers) each notched a goal, and four players collected one assist apiece. Sophomore goalie Alexane Rodrigue (Monkland, ON/Bemidji St.) turned aside 29 shots.
The Bears took a 2-0 lead after the first period with goals just over two minutes apart. Fayerman scored on a spinning backhand from the slot at five minutes, 32 seconds, and Ott tallied a power-play goal on a rebound at 7:35. After a scoreless second period, Cortland cut the lead to 2-1 at the 9:03mark of the third period when Tomei finished off a pass from Gili at the left side of the net.
In the closing minute, the Bears were able to keep possession in Cortland’s defensive zone and eventually scored an insurance goal with nine seconds remaining when Peterson put in her own rebound.

Sophomore goalie Deanna Meunier (Parsippany, NJ/NJ Rockets) turned aside 40 shots for Cortland, and sophomore goalie Alexane Rodrigue (Monkland, ON/Bemidji St.) stopped 24 shots for Potsdam as the two teams skated to a 0-0 overtime tie Friday night in ECAC West action at Alumni Arena.
Each team had seven power-play chances in the game but could not convert. Potsdam (2-4-2, 1-3-2 ECAC West) had two short 5-on-3 opportunities, while Cortland (1-4-2, 0-2-1 ECAC West) skated 5-on-3 for one minute, 15 seconds in the third period. Both Meunier and Rodrigue denied breakaway opportunities during regulation to keep the game scoreless.
The best chance for either team to grab the win came with 35 seconds left in overtime. After Meunier made a diving attempt at the left side of the net to secure the puck, the puck squirted away and Potsdam senior Amanda Lucky (Kanata, ON/Clarkson) missed the open net from the right side.

The Niagara hockey team will be in search of its first road and non-conference win of the 2013-14 season as the Purple Eagles travel to Ann Arbor, Mich. on Friday, Nov. 22 to faceoff against the University of Michigan Wolverines.  The puck is scheduled to drop at 7:07 p.m.

This contest will be game four of five in 11 days for the Purple Eagles, with the last stop being at No. 18 Cornell.  Niagara, which is 0-5-1 on the road, continues its journey in second place in the Atlantic Hockey Association, at seven points; they do not play again at Dwyer Arena until Jan. 10-11.  The Purps are 3-7-1 in their first 11 games.

Michigan welcome NU to the Yost Ice Arena with a 7-2-1 overall record.  The Wolverines’ will be looking to pocket their second consecutive victory after pushing past Nebraska-Omaha, 4-3 on Nov. 16.

KEEP UP WITH THE ACTION
•  Friday’s contest will be broadcasted live on WLVL and on Purple Eagles All-Access, with Jeremy White on the call.  You can follow the game via live stats as well by clicking on the appropriate link above.

MERCYHURST DOUBLES UP NIAGARA
•  The Purps were handed their second loss in conference play, falling to Mercyhurst, 4-2 on Tuesday at the Mercyhurst Ice Center.
•  The teams headed into the final frame knotted at two, and the shot count was just as close with NU holding a slim 22-21 advantage, but a pair of Mercyhurst tallies in the third doomed the Purple and White.
•  Niagara received goals from Chris Lochner and Isaac Kohls, while Mike Conderman pocketed a two-point evening on a pair of helpers.
•   Goaltender Jackson Teichroeb snuffed 28 Mercyhurst looks on net.
•   The Purple Eagles went 1-for-3 on the power play,  and kept the Lakers scoreless on the man-advantage (0-for-2), but allowed a shorthanded tally.

THE LEADERS
•   Ryan Rashid, Mike Conderman and Hugo Turcotte lead the Purple Eagles in scoring with eight points each.  Rashid and Turcotte have four goals and four assists apiece, while Conderman has netted a trio of goal and added five helpers.
•   Conderman leads the squad in assists with five.
•   Ryan is first with a +8 plus/minus rating.
•  Patrick Divjak leads the squad with 43 shots on goal. Turcotte is close behind with 41 looks on net.

SCORING TOUCH
•   After only three points in the first nine games, Hugo Turcotte registered five points in the pair of games vs. Army (Nov. 15-16) that earned him Travel Team USA Player of the Week honors by the Atlantic Hockey Association.
•   The sophomore center scored his first career hat trick in the 8-3 victory over Army (Nov. 16) and added an assist after contributing a goal the day before.
•  The three goal outburst on Saturday was the first hat trick since Giancarlo Iuorio (’13) netted three against Robert Morris on Feb. 15, 2013.

D PROVIDING O
•   So far this season the NU defense has contributed 25 of the Purple Eagles’ 82 points off seven goals and 18 assists.
•   Senior Kevin Ryan and freshman Vincent Muto lead the way with five points each (2-3-5), while sophomore Matt Dineen (1-3-4) and freshman Kevin Patterson (0-4-4) are not far behind with four points.
•   During Niagara’s 8-3 victory over Army (Nov. 15), the NU blueliners put up seven points for the Purple and White, including the first four goals.
•   During the 2012-13 season, the Purps’ defensemen combined for 63 points (12g, 51a) in 38 games.

SERIES HISTORY
•  The Purple Eagles and Wolverines have met eight times since their first meeting in 1998-99.  Michigan have won six straight vs. Niagara and boast a 1-7-0 record all-time against the Purps.
•  The Purple Eagles opened the 1998-99 season against then-defending national-champions Michigan Wolverines.  Michigan won Friday night’s contests, 6-5 in OT, but Niagara won Saturday’s game by a 2-1 score.

SCOUTING THE WOLVERINES
•  The University of U-M currently own a 7-2-1 overall record, and have yet to see action in the B1G conference.
•  The Wolverines are averaging 2.8 goals a game and are allowing 2.0, placing them 31st and sixth in the nation, respectively.
•  The power play has gone 11-for-40, while the penalty kill is 42-for-50, ranking them fourth and 23rd in the NCAA, respectively.
•  The Wolverine offense is led by Andrew Copp who has a team-high five goals and 10 points, also adding five assists in 10 games.  Phil Di Giuseppe (4-4-8) and JT Compher (2-6-8) have also pocketed points up top for Michigan.
•  In the net, freshman Zach Nagelvoort and sophomore Steve Racine have both seen ample town in between the pipes.  Nagelvoort currently sits in sixth in the nation in goals-against average (1.71), and in save percentage (.940) after seven games.  Racine holds a 2.44 GAA and a .931 save percentage in four games.

DOWN THE ROAD
•   After its Friday night game vs. Michigan, NU will continue its eight game road swing with a bout against No. 18 Cornell at James Lynah Rink.
•   The Purps do not return home until the start of the New Year when they welcome AIC to Dwyer.