Colgate rallies to beat Union, 5-4

Box Score

by Ryan Fay

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – When Ryan Scarfo scored a power-play goal thirty seconds into the third period to give Union a 3-1 lead over Colgate on Saturday, it appeared as if the Dutchmen had the game in hand.
But Colgate (14-7-1 overall, 6-3-1 ECAC Hockey) had other ideas.

The #14/15 Raiders scored four goals in the third and rallied for a 5-4 win in ECACH action at Messa Rink.

Tylor Spink provided the dagger, breaking a 4-4 tie and notching the game-winner at 16:37.

Colgate was sprung on a 2-on-1 break after Union defenseman Sebastien Gingras botched an attempt to knock down a clearing attempt by Kyle Baun from the Colgate zone. Tyson Spink scooped up the loose puck, took it down the left wing and made a centering pass to his twin brother Tylor, who fired it past Dutchmen goalie Colin Stevens.

“I think he was just trying to cut off the weak-side pass there,” Bennett said of Gingras, who was playing in his second straight game after missing four due to an illness. “Maybe it could be a little rust, but that’s ‘Jiggy’s’ nature. He’s an aggressive guy. He had gotten us to this point. With that type of hockey, that’s just the way it is.”

Following Scarfo's goal, the Raiders stormed back with three straight tallies. Joe Wilson recorded his second power-play goal of the game at 6:08. Emilo Audi followed with a tally at 9:31, just 12 seconds before Kyle Baun scored to give Colgate a 4-3 lead.

Union (11-10-2, 4-7-1) evened the game at 4-4 at 14:06 on a goal from Matt Wilkins. But Spink gave Colgate the last laugh 2:31 later.

“These are the tough ones to swallow,” said Dutchmen forward Daniel Ciam­pini.

After a sluggish performance in Friday's 5-1 loss to Cornell, Union came out with vim and vigor in the first period. Ciampini gave Union a 2-0 lead with a pair of goals in the first, pushing him to within one point of 100 for his career.

"The first 20 minutes, we came out like we wanted to play, we came to play like this was our rink and we were taking this no matter what," Ciampini said.

The momentum didn't carry into the second. Colgate cut Union's lead to 2-1 on a power-play goal from Wilson at 7:44. Union registered only one shot on goal for the first 16 minutes of the period, which was marred by numerous penalties on both sides. The teams combined for 10 penalties and 31 penalty minutes. That included a five-minute major and a game disqualification against Colgate's Darcy Murphy at 17:19 for hitting Dutchmen forward Mike Vecchione in the head.

"Sometimes you get caught up in the emotions of the game," Bennett said. "The way they play is a physical style. It's going to be chippy and I feel we can play that way, too. We just came out on the short end of the stick at the end of the day."

Stevens finished with 30 saves for Union, which dropped its third straight game.

End notes... Union alternate captain Sam Coatta missed his first game of the season after getting hurt in Friday's loss. Bennett described the injury as "all-over." His status will be updated during the week.

POSTGAME AUDIO

Union coach Rick Bennett



Colgate coach Don Vaughan and forward Tylor Spink (GWG) 




Union forward Daniel Ciampini

Union warms up before the game

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