OPENING FACE-OFF: After posting an impressive opening ECAC Hockey weekend with a pair of victories, Colgate will take to the road to play Brown (0-2-1), Friday evening at Meehan Auditorium and then travel to New Haven to play #11 Yale (1-1-1), Saturday. Both games are set for a 7 p.m. start. The Raiders will be looking to move to 4-0 in league play for the first time since the 1998-99 campaign and stretch its winning streak from three to possibly five. Colgate will also be in search of duplicating the feat of the 2005-06 squad, which posted a weekend sweep on the road at Brown and Yale. Last weekend, Colgate posted its first ever weekend sweep of Harvard and Dartmouth.
MEET THE HEAD COACH: Don Vaughan is in his 17th year at the helm of the Colgate Raiders. The 1984 graduate of St. Lawrence enters the campaign as the program's all-time winningest coach with a 273-255-62 mark. On February 16, 2008, he became the all-time winningest coach with his 252nd victory as Colgate blanked Union 8-0. On November 11, 2007, the President of Colgate, Rebecca S. Chopp, announced the creation of the Donald F. Vaughan Endowed Coaching Chair for Men's Hockey.
BROWN IN BRIEF: The Bears are off to a 0-2-1 start. Brown has already gone into overtime twice this season, falling to Princeton 1-0 in the season-opener and posting a 3-3 draw with Union. The Bears are coached by Brendan Whittet, who returns to his alma mater after spending 11 years as an assistant at Dartmouth. Harry Zolnierczyk (1-1-2), Jack Maclellan (0-2-2) are Brown's top point producers at this stage, while Mike Clemente (0-2-1, 2.27, .924 save%) mans the cage.
YALE IN BRIEF: The Bulldogs are 1-1-1 on the young season and are ranked 11th and 12th nationally. Yale opened with an impressive 5-2 victory at Princeton, but fell on the road to Rensselaer (5-2) and tied Union (3-3) last weekend. The defending ECAC Hockey champions are paced by Broc Little (4-2-6), Andrew Miller (1-3-4), Denny Kearney (0-4-4), and Sean Backman (3-0-3). Netminder Ryan Rondeau (1-1-1, 3.26, .906 save %) has played every minute in net.
SERIES RECORDS: Colgate holds a commanding 47-18-5 record versus Brown, but the Bears have proven to be worthy opponents of late. In the last eight meetings, the series is tied 2-2-4. The Raiders went 0-1-1 versus Brown last year – falling at Starr Rink 4-1 and posting a 3-3 overtime draw in Providence. The Raiders are 18-12-2 all-time in games played at Brown.
The Raiders hold a 45-35-3 all-time record over Yale, however, the Bulldogs have prevailed in four of the last six meetings. Last season, both meetings went into overtime with each team posting wins in the other school's barn. Yale rallied from a four-goal deficit to defeat Colgate 5-4 in overtime at Starr Rink, while Colgate overcame a deficit late in the contest to post a 3-2 overtime upset of then #11 Yale at Ingalls Rink in the regular-season finale. The goal differential in the series that dates back to 1916-1917 season is one with Colgate holding a 327-326 edge. Yale leads the series 23-19-2 in New Haven.
CONTINUING ITS STRONG OPENING NIGHT STARTS: Including last Friday's 5-4 victory over Harvard, Colgate improved to 6-1-1 in its last eight ECAC Hockey opening night match-ups. The only blemish during this streak is a 2-1 loss at Yale on November 3, 2006.
NON LOSING STREAK: Colgate heads into this weekend with a four-game non losing streak (3-0-1). The last time the Raiders have put forth this type of streak was back in the 1995-96 season as they downed Niagara (2-1), Bentley (5-1), Canisius (9-0) and posted a 2-2 tie with Quinnipiac. The Raiders also bring in a three-game win streak into Friday's clash at Meehan. Colgate had a three-game win streak last year to open the season with wins over UMass-Lowell (2-1), Bentley (4-1) and Robert Morris (5-2).
ON THESE DATES: Colgate is a combined 8-7 in games played on these particular dates – 4-3 on November 13 and 4-4 on the 14th. The Raiders have won three of the last four meetings on the 13th including a pair of victories over Brown – 3-2 in 1998 and 7-6 in 1999. Colgate's only loss in this stretch on the 13th happened last year in a 4-1 loss to Cornell at Starr Rink.
THIS DATE IN COLGATE HOCKEY:?11-13-99 (Colgate 7, Brown 6): Colgate outscored the Bears 5-1 in the second period en route to a 7-6 victory in Hamilton. The Raiders trailed 2-0 after the first period. Two current pros had a major hand in Colgate's win as Andy McDonald posted a goal and four assists and Cory Murphy scored twice and handed out an assist. Shep Harder saved 11 shots and current Colgate assistant Jason Lefevre turned aside six more in the victory.
11-14-98 (Colgate 6, Harvard 3): Colgate scored four consecutive goals in a 6-3 victory at the Bright Hockey Center. Andy McDonald tallied the go ahead goal 14 seconds into the second period. He finished the game with two goals and two assists. Jason Lefevre went the distance in net turning aside 28 Crimson shots.
COLGATE SCORING HISTORY VERSUS BROWN: Nine current players have at least one point in their careers versus Brown, three have scored a goal or more. David McIntyre leads the point producers with three goals and four points, while Austin Smith and Jason Williams are the two other Raiders to light the lamp against the Bears
LAST YEAR VERSUS BROWN: Colgate went 0-1-1 against Brown in the 2008-09 season. The Bears posted a 4-1 victory at Starr Rink on January 23, 2009, its first win in Hamilton since a 5-2 decision on February 19, 1993. Colgate went 15-0-2 against Brown prior to that loss at Starr Rink. Tom Riley scored the lone goal for Colgate. In the second meeting at Meehan Auditorium, the Bears scored late in the third period to force overtime and nothing was decided in the five-minute period in a 3-3 tie. Riley, Austin Smith and Jason Fredricks each punched in goals for the Raiders. Colgate has a 2-0 lead after the first period. Nick Prockow posted his first multi-point game with two assists. Charles Long saved 25 shots in the tie.
COLGATE SCORING HISTORY VERSUS YALE: Seven members of the current squad have posted at least one point versus Yale – four have at least one goal. David McIntyre and Brian Day have combined for 12 points against the Bulldogs in their respective careers.
LAST YEAR VERSUS YALE: Colgate went 1-1 against the Bulldogs as both teams traded overtime victories in the other school's barn. Yale overcame a 4-0 deficit in the third period en route to a 5-4 victory at Starr Rink on January 24. The Bulldogs rallied all the way back and tied the game at 4-4 on a goal by Sean Backman with 2:03 left in regulation. Kevin Limbert scored a minute into overtime to give Yale the win. Nick Prockow scored his first collegiate goal to give Colgate the lead 1-0. Goals by David McIntyre, Nick St. Pierre and Brian Day increased the lead to 4-0 at the 5:51 mark of the third period. Alex Evin saved a career-high 41 in the loss. At Ingalls Rink, Colgate rallied from a late deficit to post a 3-2 overtime victory over the #11 ranked Bulldogs in front of a nationally-televised game on ESPNU. Trailing 2-1 with almost two minutes left, McIntyre's 20th goal of the year sent the game into overtime before Peter Bogdanich netted the game winner 1:19 into the extra session for his second overtime goal of the year. St. Pierre netted the other goal for Colgate. McIntyre finished with a goal and two assists, while Bogdanich and Brian Day had two-point afternoons. Charles Long saved 15 of his 26 shots in the third period alone to get the victory.
LAST WEEKEND RECAP: Colgate overcame a three-goal deficit in the third period to post a 5-4 victory over Harvard, Friday evening. It was the first win by Colgate at Starr Rink over Harvard since a 4-1 victory in 2006. David McIntyre posted a goal and three assists and Austin Smith provided a three-point evening with two goals and an assist. Smith scored back-to-back goals within a 2:12 span to knot the game at 4-4. Robbie Bourdon posted his second goal of the year at 15:56 from Nathan Sinz and Jason Williams to give Colgate the lead. Freshman Thomas Larkin posted a goal and an assist in the win. Charles Long entered the game cold in the first period and stopped 15 of 16 shots to get the win.
Brian Day scored his fifth of the year at 4:44 of the third and Charles Long stopped 38 shots as Colgate edged Dartmouth 3-2. Day finished with a goal and an assist, while Austin Smith dished out two helpers. Colgate led 2-0 in the second on goals by David McIntyre and Kevin McNamara. However, the Big Green responded with back-to-back goals at 8:41 and 15:49 to go into the locker room in a 2-2 tie. Colgate's penalty kill slammed the door shut on Dartmouth as it killed off all seven man advantages. It was the Raiders first win over Dartmouth in Hamilton since a 3-1 win back in 2004.
TOP LINE WAS NAILS: The trio of David McIntyre, Austin Smith and Brian Day combined for 13 points in the season-opening ECAC Hockey victories over Harvard and Dartmouth. Both McIntyre (2-3-5) and Smith (2-3-5) accounted for five points, while Day posted a goal and two assists, including the game winner versus Dartmouth, Saturday afternoon.
BIG MAC GARNERS LEAGUE WEEKLY ACCOLADES: Following a two-goal, five-point weekend against Harvard and Dartmouth, David McIntyre was named the ECAC Hockey Player of the Week. The senior posted a career-high four-point evening in the win over the Crimson with a goal and three assists. His three assists tied a personal best set last season in a 5-4 overtime victory over Lake Superior State.
COME SE FOSSE LA PRIMA VOLTA (Italian loose translation for It feels like the first time): Thomas Larkin was named the ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Week for the first time in his career. The freshman played an important role in Colgate's come from behind victory over Harvard with a goal and an assist. It was his first multi-point game of his career. Larkin got Colgate on the board in the second with the Raiders' first goal. He later assisted on Austin Smith's first of two goals of the game which brought the score to 4-3.
FIRST WEEKEND SWEEP IN A WHILE: When Colgate downed Harvard and Dartmouth to open its 2009-2010 ECAC Hockey slate, it was the first four-point weekend since February 15-16, 2008 when the Raiders blanked Rensselaer 4-0 and Union 8-0. Colgate's last non-conference weekend sweep was over Robert Morris on December 1-2, 2007.
LONGER CONTINUES TO DOMINATE DARTMOUTH: Charles Long continued to put up great numbers against Dartmouth in Colgate's 3-2 victory Saturday. The junior netminder improved to 2-1 all-time against Big Green with a 38-save performance, one shy of his all-time career high. In his three starts versus Dartmouth, Long has saved 88 of 91 shots he has faced for a .967 save percentage.
PASSING THE CENTURY MARK: With his career-high four-point evening versus Harvard, David McIntyre became the 48th player in the program's history to surpass the 100-point milestone. He heads into the weekend with 103 points, which ranks tied for 41st on the all-time point list. He needs two more points to pass Richard Johnson for 40th. Johnson posted 104 points in three years in the early 1960s.
BALANCED SCORING: After nine games, Colgate has 19 players with at least one point and 13 players with at least one goal. Austin Smith enters the weekend with a team best 12 points on six goals and six assists. Right behind him with 11 points is returning first team all-ECAC Hockey honoree and first team All-American David McIntyre, who has 11 points on two goals and a team-high nine assists. Five players on the roster have between five and seven points.
FRESHMEN IMPACT: After nine games, the Colgate freshmen have integrated themselves rather well as far as posting points. The freshman class has accounted for seven goals and 12 assists in the early stages of the season. Heading into the second meeting with Niagara, the previous four games saw a freshman tally their first collegiate goal in each game. Kurtis Bartliff netted his first goal in the 1-1 tie with nationally ranked Nebraska-Omaha, while Christian Long found the back of the next the following night against the Mavericks. Against UMass-Lowell, it was Robbie Bourdon's turn to light the lamp. Two Friday's ago saw Jeremy Price open the scoring versus Army. Bourdon, who scored his first game winner versus Harvard, and Long led the frosh with two goals. Thomas Larkin got into the act with his first goal against Harvard as well. He is tied for 34th nationally in points by a rookie and tied for 36th in points per game by a defenseman (0.67 ppg)
AHEAD OF PACE: Some people thought it was hilarious, while others shook their collective heads in disbelief regarding Colgate's national record 19 overtime appearances during the 2008-09 season. Don't look now, but the Raiders are ahead of their record pace of a year ago. Colgate posted its third overtime game in the year's first six games last Friday versus Army. The Raiders tallied their third overtime game of the year in the 2-2 tie versus Harvard on November 22 – the 10th game.
STREAKING AGAIN? After having its 14-game streak of playing in games decided by one goal or less in a 4-1 loss to Nebraska-Omaha, Colgate appears to be starting another similar close call streak. The Raiders are 3-0-1 in their last four games, all decided by one goal or less. Colgate finished the 2008-09 season with 11 consecutive games of this type and then extended it with three more to begin the season.
PK STILL RANKED AMONG TOP 20: After killing off nine of 11 man advantages last weekend versus Harvard and Dartmouth, Colgate ranked tied for 14th in the country with defending national champion Boston U in penalty kill. In nine games, the Raiders have posted a penalty kill rate of .878 (43 of 49). Princeton holds the top spot at .952 as the Tigers have killed off 20 of its first 21 penalty kill attempts.
A RECAP OF THE OVERTIME STREAK: Colgate entered the 2009-2010 campaign having played seven consecutive overtime games, which dated back to the end of 2008-09 season. The Raiders went 3-2-2 down the stretch in these games – the two losses coming to Quinnipiac in a best of three series in a first round ECAC Hockey Tournament clash in Hamden, Conn. The streak began at home with a 2-2 tie versus Union on February 20. Colgate would go on to beat Rensselaer (2-1); tie Brown 3-3 in Providence and then upset #11 Yale (3-2) in front of a national TV audience in New Haven all before the meetings with the Bobcats. Quinnipiac won the opener 3-2; then Colgate rallied from a two-goal deficit late in the game for a 5-4 victory to force a third game. The Bobcats prevailed 4-3 in the final game of the series. The Raiders stretched the streak to eight with a 4-4 tie at Niagara last Friday evening, but was broken the following night in a 3-2 regulation victory at RIT. It was Colgate's first regulation victory since a 1-0 defeat of Dartmouth on Valentines Day at Thompson Arena.
SHOULD OVERTIME HAPPEN: If it happens, eyes need to focus on two of Colgate's best ever goal scorers in overtime in David McIntyre and Austin Smith. McIntyre is tied for second all-time with three over-time game winners. He needs one more to tie Jon Smyth for first. One of McIntyre's goals lifted Colgate by Clarkson in the third and final game of an ECAC Hockey quarterfinal as the Raiders advanced to the Final Four as the seventh seed. Smith is tied for sixth having scored two overtime winners as a freshman last season versus Lake Superior State and Quinnipiac. McIntyre has six overtime points (3 goals, 3 assist) and five of them came last season. The only game he didn't record a point in a game winner was Colgate's 5-4 victory over Quinnipiac in the second game of the three-game series.
PRESEASON HONORS: David McIntyre has been named a pre-season first team all-ECAC Hockey honoree by the coaches and media. In addition, the senior has been named as a preseason first team all-American by Inside College Hockey and once again named to the all-College Hockey News first team. In 2008-09, McIntyre finished with 21 goals and 43 points, both ranked among the leaders nationally. His point total was the highest for a single season since Andy McDonald's 58 in 1999-2000. He was a first team all-league honoree; a finalist for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award, a first team AHCA/Reebok Eastern All-American, a first team all-American by Inside College Hockey and was a selection to the all-College Hockey News team. In addition, McIntyre is one of 20 candidates for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award for men's ice hockey.
GETTING DRAFTY: Colgate has six NHL draft picks on its 2009-2010 roster. David McIntyre was drafted in the fifth round of the 2006 Draft by the Dallas Stars. Last year, his rights were traded twice in two months and now stands property of the New Jersey Devils. Corbin McPherson (New Jersey, 3rd, 2007), Brian Day (New York Islanders, 6th, 2006), Austin Smith (Dallas Stars, 5th, 2007), Jeremy Price (Vancouver Canucks, 4th, 2009), and Thomas Larkin (Columbus Blue Jackets, 5th, 2009) round out the Raiders' draft picks.
BLUELINE SHUFFLE: Colgate will have a revamped defense for the 2009-2010 season. Don Vaughan's squad lost five defensemen to graduation that combined to play close to 600 collegiate games. With the return of Corbin McPherson, Wade Poplawski and Kevin McNamara, the Raiders have 132 games of collegiate experience. Newcomers will need to make an impact on the blueline this season.
OH BROTHER: Charles and Christian Long are the first set of brothers to play for Don Vaughan at the same time. They hail from Cleveland Heights, Ohio and played junior hockey for the Brockville Braves of the CJHL. Charles and Christian have played three years together at different levels including helping St. Edwards High School to an Ohio State High School title.
