Colgate Faces #10 Princeton and Quinnipiac in Men's Hockey

Charles Long posted his first collegiate shutout in the first meeting with Quinnipiac.

HAMILTON, N.Y. (2/5/09) – After posting a split last weekend in the North Country, the Colgate men's hockey team returns home for its next to last home weekend of the year as it takes on 10th ranked Princeton, Friday and then Quinnipiac Saturday at Starr Rink. Both games will start at 7 p.m.

The Raiders, 7-14-5 overall and 2-9-3 in league play, finds themselves in a tie for 11th place in ECAC Hockey standings with Brown, four points behind Union and Rensselaer, which are in a tie for ninth. Princeton (15-6-0/9-5-0) and Quinnipiac (14-10-2/7-5-2) are third and fifth respectively in the conference race.

Last weekend, Colgate snapped a five-game winless skid by defeating Clarkson 3-1 at Cheel Arena to run its record to 2-0-4 in its last six regular season games in Potsdam. Brian Day (Danvers, Mass.) netted two power play goals in the victory over the Golden Knights, while Matt Firman (Fayetteville, N.Y.) collected his first collegiate point on a goal early in the first period. Charles Long (Cleveland Heights, Ohio) stopped 26 shots en route to gaining the victory. The following evening, Saint Lawrence downed the Raiders 4-2. Day along with Nick St. Pierre (St. Etienne, Que.) both tallied power play goals in the loss.

Colgate's offense features three of the top goal scorers in the league in David McIntyre (Pefferlaw, Ont.), Day, and Austin Smith (Dallas, Texas). McIntyre (13-17-30) enters the weekend ranked not only among the leaders in the league, but nationally in a few statistical categories. He is tied for second in the league and is tied for 25th in goals per game nationally. McIntyre, tied for 20th in the country in points per game (1.15 ppg), ranks third in ECAC Hockey standings in points. Following his three-goal weekend versus Clarkson and St. Lawrence, Day (13-3-16) moved into a tie for second in goal scoring with McIntyre in conference standings and ranks 17th nationally in goals per game (0.57 gpg). Smith (11-12-23), ranked second on the team in scoring, still is among the national leaders in points per game for a rookie - seventh. The freshman is currently tied for sixth in the league in goal scoring with 11.

In goal, Colgate is paced by Long (6-7-4, 2.65 goals against average, .901 save percentage). The junior has better numbers against league opponents in his 10 performances (2.24 goals against average, .914 save percentage).

Friday evening's tilt with Princeton will mark the 92nd clash between the two schools with the Raiders holding a 45-40-6 advantage in the series which dates back to December 18, 1935. However, in the last 10 meetings, the Tigers are 6-4-0 against Colgate, including posting wins in the last five meetings. Princeton got a goal from Kevin Lohry at the 2:16 mark of overtime in a 2-1 victory over the Raiders at Hobey Baker Rink, November 8. Down 1-0, Smith got the equalizer at 15:34 of the third period to send the game into overtime.

The Tigers, 2-4 in the last six games, have a balanced scoring attack. Mark Magnowski (9-7-16), Jody Pederson (2-12-14), and Brett Wilson (6-8-14) lead the Princeton offense. The Tigers are ranked fourth in the nation in scoring defense (1.90 gpg) and much of that has to do with Zane Kalemba. The junior netminder ranks fifth nationally in goals against average and save percentage.

Colgate will be looking for its first victory over a ranked opponent since March 16, 2008 as it upset then seventh ranked Clarkson in double overtime of the third game to advance to the ECAC Hockey semifinals. The Raiders' last victory over a ranked opponent at Starr Rink came in a 6-2 defeat of St. Lawrence on February 2, 2007.

When Quinnipiac comes to town Saturday, the game will feature the top three scorers in ECAC Hockey. The Bobcats boast the nation's leading scorer in junior Bryan Leitch (9-35-44), who also leads the country in assists. David Marshall (15-18-33) ranks second in the league in scoring ahead of McIntyre. Quinnipiac also has two other goal scorers with 10 or more on the season in Jean-Marc Beaudoin (11-9-20) and Eric Lampe (10-10-20). The Bobcats feature one of the best combined special teams in the country – ranked eighth on the power play (20.5) and 11th in penalty kill (87.4).

Saturday's contest will be the 12th such meeting between the Raiders and Bobcats with Colgate holding a 6-2-3 advantage including an earlier blanking of Quinnipiac.
Francois Brisebois (Montreal, Que.) netted the game's lone goal at 8:43 of the third period and Long saved all 19 shots as Colgate opened league play with a 1-0 victory in Hamden, Conn.

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