Last zero zoinked
The nation’s last unbeaten finally took its tumble, as Colgate scored four goals in the last 12 minutes of Friday’s game to ground the Green (more on Colgate in a bit).
Dartmouth went on to draw in Ithaca the following night, bringing its record to 5-1-2. Junior Eric Robinson’s eight goals in eight games place him among the hottest hands in Division 1 right now, but it’s no one-trick pony up in Hanover: 11 different Big Green icers have found the twine already. In the back, goalies Cab Morris and Charles Grant each boast save rates over .910 (in fact, Morris holds a .919; Grant, a .944) and neither is surrendering more than two goals a game on average.
The Big Green are now one of four one-loss teams in the country (Boston College, Denver, and Granite State rival New Hampshire are the others), but that is likely to change on – if not by – November 24 when BC hosts Dartmouth in Chestnut Hill.
Raiders on the rise
It’s been an up and down season for identity-seeking Colgate, but last weekend certainly gave the Raiders a wave worth riding. The ‘Gate upended previously unbeaten Dartmouth, then stymied potent Harvard for their first league points of the campaign.
Senior Robbie Bourdon paced the team with a hat trick on Friday, including the game-winner with just three seconds remaining in regulation. His five goals lead the squad, tied with… who? Darcy Murphy. The rookie hasn’t lit the lamp since November 2 versus Cornell, but he nonetheless racked up five goals in his first eight games to draw a lot of attention from more recent foes.
Freshman Spencer Finney has posted better numbers between the pipes than veteran Eric Mihalik, begging the goaltending question on a game-to-game basis. Finney mopped up for Mihalik on Friday and earned the win behind the Raiders’ third-period surge, and worked all 60 minutes on Saturday for his second career W.
North Country ‘Cats
Quinnipiac made itself right at home in its annual North Country trip, vanquishing Clarkson 5-2 and downing suddenly struggling St. Lawrence, 6-2. This is never an easy trip – it’s a six and a half hour trip in the best of circumstances – but you’d never know it was anything more than a local pick-up game by the 11-4 aggregate.
Unlike years past, this iteration of the Bobcats is rolling on depth and defense: senior Jeremy Langlois’ 10 points lead the team, and 14 different ‘Cats have scored goals already… including all but four regular skaters. Senior goalie Eric Hartzell’s .917/1.70 stat line is easy on the eyes, and the Q hasn’t lost a weekend yet.
The team is currently 1/3 of the way through a season-long six-game road swing, with games at Providence and Massachusetts and the Capital District deuce ahead. The four-game winning streak is nice for now, but Bobcats fans are hoping it is merely tinder for an inferno to come.
