HAMILTON, N.Y. (2/19/09) – The Colgate men's hockey team will host Union and Rensselaer for its final regular-season home series, Friday and Saturday evening at Starr Rink. Both games will begin at 7 p.m. Saturday's clash with the Engineers will be broadcasted by Time Warner Cable Sports out of Syracuse. 

The game will also be aired in Albany in its entirety and will be joined in progress in Buffalo on Time Warner Cable Sports outlets.

The weekend will signify possibly the final home appearances for seven Raider seniors – Mark Anderson (Hastings, Neb.), Peter Bogdanich (Burnaby, B.C.), Joe DeBello (Oswego, Ill.), Jason Fredricks (Eagle River, Wisc.), Tom Riley (Ottawa, Ont.), David Sloane (Ambler, Pa.) and Nick St. Pierre (St. Etienne, Que.). During their careers, these seniors have been a part of two Colgate teams that advanced to the semifinals of the ECAC Hockey Tournament.

 

Colgate (9-16-5/4-11-3) enters the weekend in 11th place in the league standings, just two points behind Rensselaer and four points in back of Clarkson, which stands in eighth overall. The Raiders return home following posting their first upset of a nationally-ranked opponent since mid-March, 2008 as it blanked #19 Dartmouth 1-0, Saturday evening in Thompson Arena. David McIntyre (Pefferlaw, Ont.) tallied his 17th goal of the year and Charles Long (Cleveland Heights, Ohio) posted his second shutout of his career with 28 saves in the victory.

 

The Raiders have nine players on the roster with 10 or more points. The crux of the goal scoring comes from the trio of McIntyre, Austin Smith (Dallas, Texas), and Brian Day (Danvers, Mass.). McIntyre enters the weekend tied for first in league in goals (17) and third in the league in points (36). The junior is riding a streak of at least a point in seven consecutive games, a stretch in which he has scored five goals and dished off four assists. Since November 22, McIntyre has produced 15 goals and 14 assists in his last 20 games. Smith (11-13-24) is tied for 14th nationally in points per game by a rookie (0.80). The freshman is in a tie for 10th in the league in goal scoring. Day (13-5-18) is tied for fourth in the league in goals and has been on a hot streak in his own right. The sophomore has posted a point in six of his last seven games, a span in which he has tallied four goals and three assists.

 

Fredricks and St. Pierre continue to move up the career charts at Colgate for games played. With two more outings, Fredricks will move into fifth on the all-time list with 144 appearances, passing Rob Brown (2001-04), who had 143. St. Pierre is expected to tie Jesse Winchester (2005-08) for seventh on the all-time list with 142 appearances.

 

Long leads Colgate in the net. In 21 appearances, the junior has posted a 7-8-4 mark and sports a save percentage of .907. However, Long has been even more effective in league games (2.11 goals against average, .920 save percentage).

 

Friday's game versus the Dutchmen (15-13-2/8-9-1) will mark the 50th class between the two schools with Colgate holding a comfortable 34-14-1 margin. However, Union has won three out of the last four meetings, including a pair of decisions this year. The Raiders have won 21 of 22 meetings played in Starr Rink, including not losing at home to the Dutchmen since a 6-0 loss on February 28, 1998. During this 10-game streak, the Raiders have outscored Union 48-10.

 

Saturday's meeting with Rensselaer (7-21-2/6-11-1) will be the 108th meeting between the two schools with the Engineers leading the series 56-49-3, including posting a 3-2 overtime victory over Colgate earlier in the season. The Raiders have won six of the last 10 meetings between the two teams. Since a 2-1 loss on November 9, 2001 at Starr Rink, Colgate is 7-0-1 against the Engineers at home since that last loss.

 

During this final regular-season home weekend, the Raiders will be “Facing off Against Cancer”. Fans will have the opportunity to donate money towards the American Cancer Society for every face-off win Colgate tallies on the weekend. Donation sheets will be available at Starr Rink. Also, Colgate will be raffling off additional items to raise additional money towards charity. A signed Jesse Winchester Ottawa Senator jersey as well as a signed stick by Anaheim Duck star Ryan Getzlaf, among other various signed Colgate team items will be raffled off.