Men’s Hockey Splits Weekend Series: The Saints Beat Cornell 2-1 on Friday and Lost 6-1 to Colgate on Saturday
The Saints Men’s Hockey team welcomed Cornell’s Big Red and Colgate Raiders to Appleton Arena this past weekend on Friday and Saturday night. Cornell came into the matchup on Friday night boasting an 8-6-5 record after being ranked top 20 in the nation in the pre-season poll. 1326 fans were on hand for the Friday night tilt in which the Saints took down the Big Red. It was a defensive battle for most of the game, but the Saints got off to a quick start when Will Arquiett ’25 put home a rebound at 9:14 of the first period. Goaltender Mason Kucenski ’27 held strong for the entirety of the period, and the Saints headed to the locker room with a one goal lead after the first.
After applying constant pressure at the beginning of the second period, Cornell capitalized just over two minutes in with a goal from Hank Kempf. The Saints responded quickly, as Philippe Chapleau ’25 netted a goal from the point at 6:53 of the second period. Kucenski stood strong in the net for the remainder of the period, and the Saints took their 2-1 lead into the final frame.
Despite having to kill off two penalties in the third period and fend off the extra attacker for the Big Red in the final minutes, the Saints held their 2-1 lead to pull out the big win. Kucenski finished with 27 saves, and the Saints picked up three crucial points in the league standings.
Coming off a big win over Clarkson on Friday, Colgate strolled into Appleton on Saturday night, sitting in second place in the ECAC standings. The first period was a defensive battle, as both goaltenders turned away all seven shots they faced.
Colgate capitalized on a powerplay goal at 3:09 of the second period, as Brett Chorske ’25 found the back of the net. The Raiders scored one more goal late in the second period to take a 2-0 lead, but the Saints responded right away. Gabe Westling ’28 netted the first goal of his career at 17:53 of the second period, and the Saints pulled within one heading into the second intermission.
Unfortunately, Colgate scored quickly at just 1:30 into the third period and ended up pulling away with three more goals in the closing minutes, including an empty net tally. The Raiders pulled out a 6-1 win, giving themselves a successful 2-0 weekend in the North Country.
Next up for the Saints is a trip south to Connecticut and New Jersey, as they take on the Quinnipiac Bobcats and Princeton Tigers in two crucial games as the regular season continues to heat up. Quinnipiac is currently sitting at #14 in the country, so the Saints can snag a nice nationally-ranked win on Friday.
As for Princeton, they are currently sitting just two points ahead of the Saints in the ECAC standings, so depending on Friday night’s results, a win on Saturday could propel the Saints ahead of the Tigers in the standings, which would be crucial in the battle for securing a home playoff series.