The BG hockey team picked up its first win of the season this past weekend against Colgate, but in the process, sustained a huge loss.
The Falcons won Friday’s game 3-1, but lost 4-2 on Saturday. However, the team lost junior goaltender Andrew Hammond, who had started the team’s previous 55 games in net, 29 seconds into the first period of Friday’s game with an apparent elbow injury.
Hammond will be re-evaluated this week to determine the extent of the injury. It is not yet known if he will be available to play this weekend against Ohio State.
Freshman Tommy Burke relieved him Friday, picking up his first collegiate win by stopping 24 of 25 shots.
“My coaches have confidence in me and my teammates have confidence in me. I got a few long shots early to get into the game and our defense played real well and everyone played well defensively; I didn’t have too many offensive chances [against me],” Burke said.
The Falcons responded well to get Burke a cushion early, with Dajon Mingo scoring less than three minutes into the game. BG played well in the first, putting nine shots on Colgate goalie Spencer Finney.
Mingo added an assist to stretch his point streak to four games. That streak ended in Saturday’s game.
“I just want to be relentless out there and play hard with the team,” Mingo said. “How coach says we have to go out and play relentless and that’s what I did today.”
Cam Wojtala made it 2-0 just over a minute into the second period. He received a pass from Mingo near the offensive blue line, carried the puck into the zone and fired a wrist shot past Finney.
Burke was strong throughout the game, but particularly in the second and third periods. He stopped nine shots in each period.
It took Colgate nearly the entire game to figure him out. Jeremy Price cut the BG lead to 2-1 with just over three minutes to go in the game.
However, that score held for just over a minute, as Bobby Shea blocked a shot at the defensive blue line, leading to a breakaway goal to bring the lead back to two.
The win for the Falcons was their first of the season.
“I think it was a character win for the team,” said Assistant Coach Barry Schutte. “It’s no secret we’re a young team and guys are still identifying their roles. I thought they came out focused.”
Colgate has developed its game as a team that is aggressive offensively and takes chances with the puck. That risk-reward mentality cost them Friday, but paid off greatly for them Saturday.
The Raiders scored three goals in a span of 5:45 midway through the first period.
Despite training 3-0 after the first, the Falcons played well in the period, outshooting Colgate 11-9.
The Falcons fought back in the second, with Mark Cooper scoring his second goal of the year to cut the deficit to 3-1.
“It was a great job by [Andrew] Wallace and [Dan] DeSalvo on the forecheck; I was just waiting in the weeds,” Cooper said. “When DeSalvo came out with the puck he found me back door and I just had a tap-in.”
Colgate answered late in the period to make it 4-1 entering the third.
DeSalvo had two assists in the game. He also assisted on Ryan Carpenter’s late third period goal. DeSalvo has four assists in five games this year.
Despite allowing four goals on 27 shots, Burke played well in his first collegiate start. Two of the goals he allowed were off rebounds and another was a Colgate shorthanded goal on a 2-on-1 play.
Cooper was active in the game, with a goal and four shots.
“We just have to come in mentally prepared every game and every shift,” he said. “[You can’t] give up when a bounce doesn’t go your way, just keep going and stay positive.”
BG returns home this weekend for a two game series with Ohio State.
