HAMILTON, N.Y. - Freshman Jackson Pierson (Zionsville, Ind.) scored in his collegiate debut and sophomore goaltender Mike Robinson (Bedford, N.H.) made 30 saves, but Jared Cockrell broke a 1-1 tie with the game winner with 9:14 left in the third period as the University of New Hampshire men's hockey team fell to Colgate, 2-1, on Friday night at the Class of 1965 Arena in the season opener for both teams.
UP NEXT
The Wildcats will conclude their two-game series at Colgate on ESPN+ on Saturday, Oct. 13 at 4:00 p.m.
HOME-OPENER:
The home opener at the Whittemore Center is Saturday, Oct. 27 versus Vermont at 7:00 p.m. The first 1,000 fans will receive the official game day t-shirt. You can buy tickets by calling the Whittemore Center Box Office at (603) 862-4000 or by visiting UNHWildcats.com.
Score: Colgate 2, New Hampshire 1
Records: New Hampshire (0-1-0), Colgate (1-0-0)
Location: Hamilton, N.Y. (Class of 1965 Arena)
Date: Friday, Oct. 12, 2018
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Attendance: 1,287
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Robinson made five saves during the early going and the Wildcats had four shots as the game was tied at 0-0.
- Then at 7:46, the Raiders almost took the lead when Paul McAvoy fired a shot that hit the post.
- At 12:35, sophomore Patrick Grasso (Ankeny, Iowa) had a shot saved but freshman Angus Crookshank (North Vancouver, British Columbia) pounced on the rebound. But Mitch Benson was able to keep the puck out of the net.
- Robinson made 14 saves after the first period, while the Wildcats took seven shots. The Raiders went 0-1 on the power play.
- UNH took a 1-0 lead while on the power play when Pierson netted his first collegiate goal. Senior captain Marcus Vela (Burnaby, British Columbia) fired a shot that deflected off a Colgate player and went to Pierson who sent the puck to the back of the net. Sophomore Max Gildon (Plano, Texas) also posted an assist on the goal.
- Robinson tallied 22 saves after the first two periods as UNH took 15 shots. The Wildcats went 1-2 on the man-advantage and the Raiders went 0-2.
- At 2:36 of the third period, Colgate tied the game at 1-1 with a goal by Tyler Penner.
- Then Cockrell found the back of the net at 10:46 to give the Raiders a 2-1 advantage.
- With 1:05 left in the period the Wildcats went with the empty net but were unable to score the equalizer for the 2-1 final.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- Colgate outshot UNH by a 32-19 margin.
- Robinson made 30 saves, while Benson recorded 18.
- The Wildcats went 1-2 on the power play and the Raiders went 0-4.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
- Pierson scored his first collegiate goal in his debut.
- UNH leads the all-time series versus Colgate, 27-11-2.
- The Wildcats are now 50-37-3 all-time in season openers
