OPENING FACE-OFF: After suffering a 4-2 defeat at the hands of arch-rival Cornell, November 24 in Ithaca, Colgate returns to action by traveling for its last ECAC Hockey weekend in 2009. On Friday, the Raiders will play Union and then will square off against Rensselaer on Saturday. Colgate will look to duplicate the feat of the 2005-06 squad which was the last Raider team to post a weekend sweep in the Capital District. Colgate downed Union 2-0 and then edged Rensselaer 2-1, February 24-25, 2006. Last season, the Raiders suffered a weekend sweep on the road at the hands of Union and Rensselaer.
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 275-257-63 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, former Colgate President, Rebecca S. Chopp, announced the creation of the Donald F. Vaughan Endowed Coaching Chair for Men's Hockey.
THESE DATES IN COLGATE HOCKEY HISTORY: Combined, Colgate is 13-14 overall on these dates … 6-7 on December 3 and 7-7 on December 4. The Raiders have only posted one weekend sweep on these dates. Back in 2005, Colgate bested Princeton (4-2) and Yale (4-1) in back-to-back games. Two of Colgate's wins on the 3rd are in overtime – 4-3 versus Northeastern in 1971 and 6-5 over Brown in 1976.
December 3, 2004 (Colgate 4, Princeton 2) –. Dmitry Yashin netted the go ahead goal at 7:46 of the third and Dave Thomas cemented the win with an empty netter with 43 seconds left as Colgate prevailed over Princeton 4-2 at Starr Rink. Steve Silverthorn made 18 stops in the win for the Raiders as they improved to 11-4 on the season.
December 4, 2004 (Colgate 4, Yale 1) – The Raiders scored three unanswered goals late in the second period and early in the third to post a 4-1 victory over visiting Yale. With the game knotted at 1-1, Tyler Burton and Jon Smyth cashed in on even strength goals at 18:01 and 19:03 of the second period and Adam Mitchell scored at 5:38 of the third to give Colgate the victory. Steve Silverthorn made 13 saves for the Raiders. Darryl McKinnon was the lone Colgate player to post a multi-point game with two assists,
SERIES RECORDS VERSUS THE OPPOSITION:
Union – Colgate holds a commanding 34-14-2 all-time lead in the series, but the Dutchmen have gone 3-1-1 in the last five meetings. The Raiders are 12-11-1 all-time at Messa Rink and will be looking to snap a two-game losing streak in Schenectady. Colgate's last win at Union was a 3-1 victory in February of 2007. The Raiders are 6-1 all-time in games determined by one goal versus Union and are 0-0-2 in games that have gone overtime.
Rensselaer – Friday's meeting will be the 109th clash between the two schools with Rensselaer holding a 55-50-3 all-time lead. Colgate has closed the gap in the series lead in recent years as it has gone 14-4-1 versus Rensselaer in the last 19 outings. The Engineers lead the series in Troy 32-20-0. Both games in 2008-2009 went into overtime and neither ended in a tie.
LAST YEAR VERSUS UNION: Colgate went 0-2-1 against the Dutchmen last season. The Raiders fell 4-2 to Union in the finals of the Governor's Cup in Albany; dropped a 6-3 decision in Schenectady and then rallied to post a 2-2 tie at Starr Rink on the final regular-season weekend.
In the opening game, Francois Brisebois posted a goal and an assist and Tom Riley notched two helpers in the loss. Colgate led 1-0 on a goal from David McIntyre at 12:28 of the first. After Union scored twice to take a 2-1 lead in the second, Brisebois' goal at 8:44 tied the score. The Dutchmen got the eventual game winner at 13:51 of the third from Mario Valery-Trabucco and added an empty net goal at 19:52. Charles Long saved 22 shots in the loss.
In the second game, Union reeled off three consecutive goals in the third period to post the victory. Colgate battled back from a 3-1 deficit with scores from Jason Williams at 17:06 of the second and David McIntyre's second goal of the game at 5:02 of the third, however Union took the lead for good at 8:44 on a goal from Luke Cain. McIntyre finished with two goals and an assist. Charles Long saved 32 shots in the loss.
In the final meeting, Austin Smith's extra attacker goal from Brian Day with 39 seconds left in regulation forced overtime. Union had just grabbed the lead at 2-1 on Kelly Zajac's sixth goal of the year at 17:14 of the third. Trailing 1-0, the Raiders evened the game at 14:12 of the second on a goal by Ethan Cox. Charles Long had 35 saves, including three in overtime to preserve the tie.
ALL-TIME SCORING VERSUS UNION: Eight Raiders have at least one career point versus Union in their respective collegiate careers. David McIntyre (2-3-5) leads the scoring efforts versus the Dutchmen, while Francois Brisebois (1-3-4) is one point behind the senior. Jason Williams (2-1-3), Ethan Cox (2-0-2), Austin Smith (1-1-2), Wade Poplawski (0-2-2), Brian Day (0-1-1) and Kevin McNamara (0-1-1) wind up the scoring versus Union.
UNION IN BRIEF: The Dutchmen head into the weekend with a six-game unbeaten streak. Union, 6-3-4 overall and 2-0-2 in ECAC Hockey, resides in a logjam for fourth in the league standings with six points. Last weekend, Union claimed the title at the RPI Holiday Classic with a 5-4 overtime victory over Rensselaer. The Dutchmen advanced to the tournament finale by winning a shootout against Lake Superior State. The game ended 0-0 in regulation. Union, which ranks 12th nationally in scoring offense (3.54 goals per game), possesses a balanced offense with five players holding double figured point totals. Mario Valery-Trabucco (5-9-14) leads the team in scoring, while Jason Walters (5-7-12), Adam Presizniuk (4-7-11), Kelly Zajac (6-4-10) and Mike Schreiber (3-7-10) wrap up the double figured point producers. The Dutchmen have split goaltending duties. Junior Corey Milan, whose sister Hannah plays for the Colgate women's hockey team, is 3-2-3 on the season (2.63 goals against, .903 save percentage). Freshman Keith Kincaid (3-1-1, 2.75 goals against, .901 save percentage) is off to a strong start to his collegiate career.
LAST YEAR VERSUS RPI: Each team held serve on their own turf as Rensselaer topped Colgate 3-2 in overtime on January 16 in Troy, while Colgate posted a 2-1 overtime victory over the Engineers on Senior Day – February 21 at Starr Rink.
Seth Klerer's power play goal 42 seconds into overtime provided the winning margin for the Engineers. Down 2-1, David McIntyre netted his 10th of the year from Nick St. Pierre at 8:47 of the third to knot the game. Jason Williams scored the Raiders' other goal. Charles Long stopped 19 shots in the loss.
David McIntyre netted the last two goals of the meeting, including the game winner at 3:59 of overtime to lift Colgate to the win. The junior tied the game at 1-1 at 14:25 of the third period. For the second consecutive game versus the Engineers, Charles Long stopped 19 shots in the victory.
ALL-TIME SCORING VERSUS RPI: Only five Raiders have scored at least a point versus the Engineers in their respective careers. David McIntyre (6-2-8) heads the way, while Jason Williams (3-3-6) is second among active Colgate players with points against Rensselaer. Rounding out the five include Brian Day (0-3-3), Ethan Cox (1-1-2) and Francois Brisebois (1-0-1).
RPI IN BRIEF: Rensselaer heads into the weekend sporting an 8-6-1 record and is amongst a logjam in fourth place in the ECAC Hockey standings with six points (3-1-0). The Engineers have dropped three of their last four games, including suffering a 5-4 overtime loss to Union in the final of the RPI Holiday Tournament. Rensselaer sports a balanced scoring attack with four players possessing double figured point totals. Junior Chase Polacek (10-10-20) is ranked among the top 20 nationally in points per game, while freshman Brandon Pirri (7-7-14) is ninth in the country in points per game for a rookie. Paul Kerins (5-8-13) and Jerry D'Amigo (5-8-13) round out the Engineers' top point producers thus far. RPI has dropped three of its last four games. Allen York (6-5-1, 2.65 gaa, .906 save percentage) has seen the most action in net.
THINGS TO WATCH FOR: Charles Long can reach a milestone at some point this weekend. Long is 47 saves away from hitting 1,000 for his career. While not necessarily a milestone, Austin Smith needs one point to hit 50 for his career. The sophomore is averaging just under a point per game for his collegiate career with 49 points in 51 games.
ALL-TIME RIVALS: As previously mentioned, Colgate has played Rensselaer 108 previous times, which ranks fourth on the all-time opponent list. The Raiders have played both Cornell and Clarkson 136 times in their storied history, while St. Lawrence is third at 130. These four are the only schools in which Colgate has played 100 times or more. The next closest is Princeton with 93.
Clarkson 136
Cornell 136
St. Lawrence 130
Rensselaer 108
Princeton 93
Yale 83
Dartmouth 82
Brown 71
Harvard 69
Vermont 66
A TEAM OF STREAKS: First, it was eight overtime games in a row. Next, it was 14 consecutive games determined by one goal or less; then a six-game unbeaten streak; then it was scoring three or more goals in nine consecutive games. Now, its nine consecutive games in which at least one Raider posts a multi-point game. Including Colgate's 4-4 overtime draw with Army, 23 multi-point games have been posted by 12 different Raiders.
Army – Kurtis Bartliff (2 assists)
Niagara – Austin Smith (2 goals), David McIntyre (2 assists), Nick Prockow (1 goal, 1 assist)
Harvard – David McIntyre (1 goal, 3 assists), Thomas Larkin (1 goal, 1 assist), Austin Smith (two goals, 1 assist)
Dartmouth – Brian Day (1 goal, 1 assist), Austin Smith (2 assists)
Brown – Austin Smith (1 goal, 1 assist), Brian Day (1 goal, 1 assist), Corbin McPherson (1 goal, 1 assist)
Yale – Jason Williams (1 goal, 1 assist)
Quinnipiac – Brian Day (2 goals), Wade Poplawski (2 assists), David McIntyre (2 assists)
Princeton – Nick Prockow (1 goal, 1 assist), Francois Brisebois (2 goals, 1 assist), Robbie Bourdon (2 assists), Jeremy Price (2 assists), David McIntyre (2 goals, 1 assist), Austin Smith (2 assists).
Cornell – Thomas Larkin (2 assists).
LAST GAME RECAP: Blake Gallagher converted on a power play goal with 5:11 left in the third and Colin Greening added an empty netter with four seconds left as Colgate fell to seventh-ranked Cornell 4-2, Tuesday evening at Lynah Rink. The Raiders held a 1-0 lead as Francois Brisebois redirected a shot from out top behind Ben Scrivens at 11:07 of the second. After surrendering two later goals in the second, Colgate tied the game as Nick Prockow jammed home his fourth goal of the year at 1:40 of the third. The goal was under review for six minutes before the refs decided it counted. Colgate out shot Cornell 30-22. Alex Evin made 16 saves in net for the Raiders.
40 SOMETHING ON SATURDAYS: In back-to-back Saturday performances, Colgate goalies have posted 40 or more saves. On November 14, Charles Long saved a career-high 41 shots in a 3-3 tie at #11 Yale. The following Saturday, Alex Evin bested his former career-high of 41 set last season with a 43-save performance in a 5-4 overtime victory against Princeton at Starr Rink, In the opening Saturday of league play, Long tallied 38 saves in a victory over Dartmouth.
DAILY DOUBLE: When Francois Brisebois and David McIntyre scored two goals apiece in Colgate's 5-4 overtime victory over Princeton, it marked the first time two Raiders notched multi-goal games since another 5-4 victory in overtime at Starr Rink. On January 8, 2009, Austin Smith and Jason Fredricks each posted two scores in a win over Lake Superior State. The game with the Tigers marked the last home game in 2009, while the victory over the Lakers was the first home game of 2009.
DOUBLE BIG MAC: For the second time in three weeks, Colgate's David McIntyre was named as the ECAC Hockey Player of the Week on November 23. The senior posted two goals and three assists on the weekend versus Quinnipiac and Princeton. On November 9, he was honored with the recognition for the first time this season after tallying a five-point weekend in a sweep of Harvard and Dartmouth. In the opening game that weekend, McIntyre posted a career-high four-point outing (a goal and three assists) as Colgate overcame a 4-1 third-period deficit to down the Crimson 5-4. He scored a goal the following evening in a 3-2 win over Dartmouth. That same day, teammate Thomas Larkin was named the league's rookie of the week. He posted two points on the weekend, both coming versus Harvard (one goal, one assist). It was his first multi-point game of his career.
RUN DMS: The line of Brian Day, David McIntyre and Austin Smith has combined for 37 points over the last nine games. The trio posted 13 points in the weekend sweep of Harvard and Dartmouth. During this stretch, Smith (6-8) and McIntyre (4-10) have exploded for 14 points, while Day (5-3) has posted eight during this period of time. Individually speaking – prior to last Tuesday's game at Cornell, Smith had scored at least a point in nine consecutive games (6-10-16); McIntyre had an on-going eight-game point streak (4-11-15), while Day had at least a point in his last five outings (5-3-8) and all five goals have come in his last four performances. Both Smith and McIntyre were shutout, while Day didn't dress against Big Red.
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 this weekend's games with 110 career points, which ranks 38th on the all-time point list, one point behind Cory Murphy.
NATIONALLY SPEAKING: As of November 30, Colgate had a strong presence in national statistical categories as five players were ranked among the top 50 in the country. Austin Smith is ranked among the top 30 in four categories – T23rd in points per game (1.29), tied for seventh in shorthanded goals (1); tied for 28th in goals per game (0.57), and tied for ninth in game winning goals (2). David McIntyre is tied for 23rd in points per game (1.29) and is tied for fourth in assists per game (1.00); Brian Day is tied for 18th in power play goals (4) and tied for 11th in goals per game (0.75); Jason Williams is tied with Smith for seventh in short handed goals (1); Thomas Larkin is ranked in a tie for 34th in points per game for a rookie (0.73) and is 27th in points per game for a rookie.
POWER PLAY HEATING UP: After starting the season, 1 of 26 on the power play, Colgate has scored on 10 of its last 44 attempts (.227) since the Army game. The Raiders have posted at least one power play goal in nine consecutive appearances including cashing in on two of four opportunities against the then second-ranked penalty kill unit in the land – Cornell. It was the first time the Raiders had multi-power play goals in a single game since a 4-2 loss at St. Lawrence on January 30, 2009. Brian Day leads the squad with four power play goals, which is tied for 18th nationally.
48th IS GOOD IN THIS INSTANCE: Usually, when talking about being ranked nationally, the lower number is better. In the case of penalty minutes, it's just the opposite. Colgate ranks 48th nationally out of 58 schools in fewest penalty minutes per game (11.3 pmpg). Alaska posts the fewest penalty minutes per outing (8.3 pmpg), while Ferris State leads the nation with 21.6.
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.
FRESHMEN IMPACT: After 14 games, the Colgate freshmen have integrated themselves rather well as far as posting points. The freshman class is averaging two points per game at this juncture with a combined 9 goals 19 assists. Earlier, there was a four-game stretch where a freshman collected his first collegiate goal of his career. 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 and then it was Jeremy Price opening the scoring versus Army. Bourdon leads the class with four goals, three coming in his last seven games. Thomas Larkin got into the act with his first goal against Harvard as well. He is tied for 27th nationally in points by a rookie (0.73 ppg).
HOLIDAY DRIVE A SUCCESS: Ethan Cox's canned food and toy drive from November 21st's clash with Princeton was a major success. The senior spearheaded a dual drive for the first time and raised over 1,000 pounds of food, 150 toys, and $650, which will go along way in providing holiday cheer to families in the greater Hamilton Area. The food items will help restock the supply at the Hamilton Food Cupboard, while the toys will be given to the Holiday Interfaith Council. Last year's drives raised 350 pounds of food, 200 toys and $1,007 in cash over two separate weekends.
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 fifth overtime game of the year in its 13th outing. In the record-setting season, the Raiders tallied their fifth overtime game of the year in a 3-2 overtime victory versus Maine in the opening rounds of the Florida Collegiate Classic on December 27.
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 overtime 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 in overtime was Colgate's 5-4 victory over Quinnipiac in the second game of the three-game series.
Player G A P
David McIntyre 3 3 6
Ethan Cox 0 3 3
Austin Smith 2 0 2
Francois Brisebois 1 1 2
Brian Day 0 2 2
Kevin McNamara 0 1 1
Robbie Bourdon 0 1 1
Nick Prockow 0 1 1
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.
