Freshman Charlie Finn made 38 saves for Colgate against UMass Saturday afternoon at Starr Rink. (Photo by Bob Cornell)
Colgate Tripped Up Against UMass
By Matt Faulkner
(Hamilton, NY – Dec. 14, 2013) The Colgate men’s hockey team was at home for the first time since Nov. 23, but Massachusetts came out with a 2-0 win at Starr Rink on Saturdayafternoon.
Colgate (7-8-2) saw Charlie Finn get the start and he made 38 stops in net, which was his second highest total this season. The Raiders went scoreless on four power play opportunities and were shutout for the first time since the second game of the Bowling Green series earlier in the year.
Massachusetts (5-11-2) got goals from Conor Sheary and Troy Power, while Steve Masterlerz pushed aside 25 shots to earn the shutout.
The Minutemen took the first lead of the game late in the first period with Sheary scoring his third of the season with 1:23 remaining in the period. Branden Gracel tipped a shot from the point down to Michael Pereira. He was below the goal line and found Sheary above the crease. Sheary slid the puck between Finn’s pads for the 1-0 advantage.
Colgate had a chance in the first with a 5-on-3 power play. The best chance came with a drive by Spiro Goulakos. The senior captain fired a shot from the top of the slot that rang off the post and to the corner. The Raiders took a penalty for too many men on the ice to end the power play, which was Colgate’s only one of the opening frame.
After scoreless second period, the Minutemen increased the lead to 2-0 with the second goal coming four minutes into the final frame. Power was given credit after a great show of hand-eye coordination in front of Finn. Joel Hanley throw a saucer pass over a Colgate stick and Power hit it in midair to get it past Finn for the two-goal advantage.
The Raiders had two chances on the power play in the third period, but Colgate managed only two shots and didn’t find the net.
Massachusetts had a 40-25 shot advantage and one of bright spot for the Raiders was that they held the Minutemen scoreless on the power play on five opportunities.
The two teams are back on the ice Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. in the final game prior to the holiday break.
Raiders Complete Trifecta, 68-61
Colgate Rallies Past Robert Morris for First Three-Game Winning Streak Since 2010
By John Painter
(Moon Township, Pa., – Dec. 14, 2013) Colgate kicked the door down on a three-game winning streak by refusing to settle for not good enough.
The Raiders rallied from nine points down in the second half here Saturday evening and bounced Robert Morris, 68-61. The victory handed Colgate a three-game winning streak for the first time since Dec. 1-5, 2010.
“It’s great for them and a huge step,” Raiders head coach Nicci Hays Fort said of her team. “We know we are better and we’ve had some bumps in the road. But we can’t do anything about woulda-coulda games; we have to focus on the future.”
Saturday was one that certainly could have – and has – gone the other way these last three years. But Hays Fort says the focus now is on realizing what it takes to close out games.
“This team has to earn things,” she said. “Just like you feel a lot better when you earn an A – at Colgate, professors don’t just give you A’s; you have to earn them – it’s the same with earning wins. The Drexel game and this one we would not have won two years ago, and last year it would have been shaky.
“We are making strides.”
Butler on Both Ends
Lauryn Kobiela scored eight of her team-high 15 points down the stretch and Randyll Butler added her first career double-double to lift the Raiders, who improved to 4-5 overall and 3-3 on the road.
Butler finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds to match career highs in both categories. The sophomore added four steals and also helped defend Colonials star forward Artemis Spanou, who finished with 16 points and 12 boards – both below her averages.
“That was a big matchup for us,” said Butler, who was giving up 6 inches in height to Spanou. “With Carole getting those two fouls in the first half, a lot of us had to step up and help her out.”
Raiders junior Carole Harris drew a pair of fouls in the first five minutes and went to the bench with just two points. But Butler, Kelly Reid and Josie Stockill helped keep the Raiders close.
“In high school, Randyll had to guard the other team’s post player even though she was the point guard,” Hays Fort said. “She has the strength, competitiveness and deceiving length for her height.”
The first half featured 13 lead changes and three ties. Colgate’s largest lead of the opening 20 minutes was four at 21-17, and the team’s final lead of the half was 24-23 on a Reid layup with 4:58 remaining.
That’s when Robert Morris turned the tables over the final five minutes, scoring the last six points to head into the break leading 34-28.
“We had the game manageable in the first half and then let them score the last six points before half,” Hays Fort said. “Then we’re down nine in the second half and really had to dig deep.”
Trap Changes Tone
Robert Morris pushed its advantage to the largest of the game at 42-33 when Cassie Oursler scored from close range with 16:41 remaining. That gave Oursler six points in the first 3½ minutes of the second half and 12 for the game, but she wouldn’t score again.
Colgate was in the process of going to a three-quarter and half-court trap in hopes of rattling the Colonials. The plan worked, as Robert Morris committed 11 of its 18 turnovers in the second half.
“My staff made a good suggestion to put on a little bit of pressure on and that forced a couple of steals,” Hays Fort said. “They made a few shots out of our pressure, but you can’t be scared to give up a few points in order to change the game.
“Because of our pressure, we were able to start rebounding better and that was huge. We just wore them down and made some big shots late.”
Mariah Jones’ 3-pointer capped an 8-0 run that narrowed the lead to 42-41 with 12:39 showing. It was 53-50 Colonials when Colgate reeled off another 10 in a row, the final two off an exquisite inbounds play that saw Jones feed Butler for an easy bank shot that made it 60-53 with 3:44 to go.
“That was a good call by my staff and great reads from both Mariah and Randyll,” Hays Fort said. “We were looking for something to put us over the top and that did it.”
It was the only lead change of the second half. Robert Morris drew within two points in the final minute but Colgate made 11 of 14 free throws over the final 6:44 to hold on and defeat the Northeast Conference preseason favorites.
“The entire game, we would score and they would score,” Kobiela said. “We just had to get the big stops at the end of the game. We started outrebounding them and that’s what helped us get the lead at the end of the game.”
At Home on the Road
Kobiela scored eight points over the last 7½ minutes and also dished out five assists against just one turnover. The 15-point total marked a road season high and was just her second road game in double figures.
“I’ve been playing really well at home, so it was nice to match that on the road,” Kobiela said. “But everyone played well. Once we started attacking their zone, they had to get out of it and that’s what propelled us to the win.”
Mariah Jones chipped in eight second-half points to finish with a dozen, while Harris finished with nine points in 21 minutes and Stockill scored seven to go with a season-high four blocks. Catherine Lewis opened the game with a 3-pointer and added another in the first half, Missy Repoli added two from downtown including the one that put Colgate ahead for keeps. Both scored six points.
Both teams shot 39 percent from the field. Colgate made four of its 10 3-point attempts in the second half to finish 6-of-19 from downtown, while Robert Morris was 4-of-14. Robert Morris won a close rebound battle, 40-38, but committed 18 turnovers to 12 for Colgate.
Robert Morris, which dropped its fourth straight to fall to 3-5, was helped by double-doubles from Spanou (16 and 12) and Oursler (12 and 10). It was Spanou’s 32nd consecutive double-double and 66th of her career.
Colgate plays again Dec. 22 at Albany in a 2 p.m. start.
“We’re getting better every day but there’s a lot of getting better to do,” Hays Fort said. “We can’t settle for how we are now, and not settling is winning games like this one.”
Colgate 68, Robert Morris 61
Colgate (4-5): Kelly Reid 3, Carole Harris 9, Lauryn Kobiela 15, Mariah Jones 12, Catherine Lewis 6, Randyll Butler 10, Missy Repoli 6, Josie Stockill 7. Totals: 22-18-68.
Robert Morris (3-5): Artemis Spanou 16, Cassie Oursler 12, Janee Brown 5, Lou Mataly 5, Ashley Ravelli 10, Rebecca Navarro 4, Kelly Hartwell 4, Jolie Olingende 5. Totals: 23-11-61.
3-Point Field Goals: Colgate 6 (Lewis 2, Repoli 2, Kobiela, Jones); Robert Morris 4 (Ravelli 2, Spanou, Mataly).
Halftime: Robert Morris 34-28.
3-Pointers Lead Colgate to Victory
Burnatowski, Tillotson, Sherman-Newsome All with Multiple Treys
By Kat Castner
(Albany, NY – Dec. 14, 2013) Three-pointers again were key for Colgate as the Raiders drained four in a row with five minutes remaining to ultimately secure a 69-60 victory over Albany here Saturday night.
“We like to take what the defense gives us.” Colgate head coach Matt Langel said. “Our whole coaching staff played the game and we believe it’s about the players and putting them in a situation that’s going to help them have success. We’ve obviously shot the ball well here early in the season and our guys have worked hard to get where we are.
“Albany plays a tough defense but sometimes they will go under ball screens. We were prepared for it and told our guys going in that that might be the best shot we get. We practice it a lot, we shoot a lot and when our guys are open we tell them to shoot the basketball.”
After dropping its last three meetings to the Great Danes and its last two non-conference games, Colgate snapped a losing streak with a come from behind win in SEFCU Arena. The victory was also the first time in six meetings the Raiders recorded an away win against Albany.
The Raiders improved to 5-4 on the season after the needed win and saw three players hit double figures.
Murphy Burnatowski led the way with 19 points after going 5-of-7 from behind the arc. Austin Tillotson went 3-for-4 from long range for his 16 points, while Damon Sherman-Newsome added two and finished the night with 15 points. Tillotson went a perfect 5-for-5 from the floor and 3-for-3 from behind the arc in the second 20 minutes of action. Luke Roh led the team on the boards, pulling down seven rebounds and handing out five assists.
Colgate ended the night shooting 47.3 percent from the floor, hitting 26 of their 55 attempts. They also went 46.4 percent from downtown and missed only one free throw in the game. The Raiders’ 13 treys was spread among five different players and marked the first time in three games that Colgate hit double-digit 3-pointers.
Albany (5-5) received a game-high performance from Sam Rowley, who posted 21 points and 11 rebounds. Gary Johnson also reached double-digits with 14 after going 6-of-8 from the floor, and D.J. Evans added 11 points to the Great Danes’ final total.
Overall, Albany shot 43.3 percent from the floor and a mere 20 percent from long distance. Colgate held the hosts scoreless from downtown in the second 20 minutes after they missed all five of their attempts.
The Raiders started the game on a 10-0 run to take the early lead. Ethan Jacobs had five of his seven points during that stretch.
The Great Danes, however, answered with a run of their own over the next three minutes to take over the advantage at 12-10 with 13:30 left to play in the half.
Colgate would rally back, though, and retake the lead by as much as five, at 27-22 following a 3-pointer from Matt McMullen.
But again, Albany would fight back and end the half on a 4-0 run to take a 36-34 lead into halftime.
Out of the break Clayton Graham found Roh for an easy layup to knot the score at 41-all with less than 14 minutes to play.
Despite Colgate holding the advantage over the next eight minutes, the Great Danes kept it a one-basket game until the Raiders nailed four straight from behind the arc to create a 10-point cushion with 3:11 left to play. During that 12-4 Raiders’ run, two of those treys came from the hands of Tillotson.
Albany wasn’t able to recover in the closing minutes and dropped a nine-point decision to Colgate.
The Raiders are back in action Dec. 22 when they host to Ursinus at 1 p.m. This will be the first ever meeting between these two programs and will be Colgate’s final game before the holiday break.