NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Three third period goals helped Colgate secure a 5-3 win in its series finale against Merrimack on Saturday evening in Lawler Rink.
The Raiders put on a strong offensive performance after being held scoreless in Friday night’s defeat. Three players recorded multi-point games, led by Matt Verboon, who tallied three with a goal and two assists. It was the second three-point performance of the senior’s career. Colgate also saw two-point performances from Alex DiPaolo, who notched a goal and an assist, and Ross Mitton, who logged two assists.
Ben Raymond put Colgate ahead five and a half minutes into the game. Mitton passed to DiPaolo, who played the puck to Raymond. The sophomore had a two-on-one opportunity that he decided to take himself as he ripped a shot past the goalie.
Colgate had a power play chance with two and half minutes remaining in the first that it could not take advantage.
In the second, the Raiders doubled their lead with a power play goal from Alex Young. Verboon played a pass down low to Colton Young, who threaded a backward between-the-legs pass to his brother for a one-time shot that he fired into the back of the net to make it 2-0.
Colgate picked up a big penalty kill midway through the period, preventing the Warriors from getting on the board.
Under a minute into the third, DiPaolo extended Colgate’s lead to three. Pierson Brandon played the puck to Verboon, who passed to DiPaolo for a one-time shot between the penalty dots that he slotted past the goalie.
Nick Anderson made it a four-goal game with 10:38 remaining after he rifled a shot from just past the blue line into the goal. Nic Belpedio and Mitton picked up assists on the play.
Merrimack finally got on the board three minutes later. After PJ Garrett got sent to the box, the Warriors took advantage of a power play opportunity as Ryan Leibold scored to make it a 5-1 game.
The Raiders answered back a little over a minute later. After Merrimack pulled its goalie, Matt Verboon launched a shot from Colgate’s defensive zone that found its way into the goal, pushing the lead back to four at 5-1.
Merrimack would not go down without a fight as Philip Forsmark scored with 5:20 to go, and Leibold tallied a goal with 1:22 remaining to cut the lead to two.
Some big saves from Carter Gylander down the stretch prevented the Warriors from mounting a comeback. Gylander logged a total of 35 saves in the game.
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Don Vaughan
“What a turnaround. Our captains made this happen. They led by example and held everyone accountable. The coaches got out of the way and let our leadership lead. So many people want to judge a team in the first eight games. We will not do that. It’s a long season, and we will continue to work on getting better every day. Onward.”
UP NEXT
The Raiders return home to take on Vermont for Silver Puck Weekend. Puck drop is 7 p.m. Friday and 4 p.m. Saturday.
