Trailing 1-0 with less than seven minutes to play in regulation, Ryan Lough’s goal helped No. 17 St. Lawrence draw even with, and ultimately tie, Colgate 1-1.
As is usually the case with low-scoring games, the goaltenders stole the show, with Colgate netminder Colton Point stopping 39 of 40 shots, while Kyle Hayton saved all but one of the Raiders’ 34 shots.
“I thought our effort was really good tonight,” said Colgate coach Don Vaughan. “We were playing a really good team, and we had to defend a little bit more in our own end than we would have liked, but I thought we did a pretty good job of keeping pucks to the perimeter and Colton (Point) came up when we needed him to.”
“(Point) stood on his head for us, which is exactly what we needed coming into the playoffs,” said Colgate assistant captain Tim Harrison.
Harrison, the lone goal scorer for Colgate, netted his tenth of the season 9:41 into the second period, after a lengthy review to determine whether the puck crossed the goal line before the whistle blew.
“It was a great chip out by our defenseman Bretty Corkey on the right side. He chipped it through, I was able to beat the defenseman, the puck was just laying for me and I was able to get to the net,” said Harrison. “I basically closed my eyes and hoped for the best.”
The Raiders held on to the lead for the rest of the second period and most of the third, but a SLU team that outshot Colgate 30-23 over the final two periods would not be kept off the scoresheet.
Lough took a touch pass from Carson Gicewicz just outside the Colgate defensive zone, carried the puck down the right wing and fired a slapshot low blocker on Point that snuck through to tie the score with 6:20 left in regulation.
The Saints couldn’t get another puck past Point, but the tie snapped their three-game losing streak.
“Tough one. We wanted to get this one for our seniors and clinch a first round bye. I thought we played well the majority of the game, but pucks aren’t going in right now,” said Lough. “We did break the losing streak, so hopefully we can build on that, bring it into next weekend and get back in the win column before the playoffs.”
Saints coach Mark Morris was pleased with the response of his team after a disappointing loss Friday night to Cornell.
“It’s a step in the right direction,” said Morris. “I thought we carried most of the play, throughout most of the game. I can’t fault our effort. Our execution wasn’t real good, but our effort was there.”
After allowing a late goal and letting two road points slip away, Harrison acknowledged the disappointment in not winning, but still emphasized the important of earning a point.
“We would have loved to win, but in this instance, I think we’re ok with the tie. We’ll take the tie and head into RPI-Union next weekend.”
ECAC roundup
No. 7 Union 4, Princeton 2
Two power-play goals, from Brett Supinski and Jeff Taylor, helped the Dutchmen overcome a 1-0 deficit and hand the Tigers their second straight loss. Tommy Davis had two goals for Princeton.
Quinnipiac 7, Rensselaer 3
The Bobcats pounced early, scoring four in the first period, to blow out the Engineers. Six different skaters scored for Quinnipiac.
No. 3 Harvard 6, Brown 0
Ryan Donato picked up three assists in the first period alone to help the Crimson cruise to a win over the Bears. Tyler Moy had two goals and an assist for Harvard.
Cornell 3, Clarkson 3
Troy Joseph had a pair of goals to help the Golden Knights tie Cornell. Eric Freschi, Jake Weidner and Mitch Vanderlaan all had two points outings for the Big Red.
Yale 4, Dartmouth 0
Sam Tucker stopped all 26 shots he faced to help Yale shut out Dartmouth. John Hayden scored his team-leading 18th goal of the season.
