OPENING FACE-OFF
Fri., Jan. 22 – vs. Robert Morris 7 p.m. Starr Rink
Sat., Jan. 23 – vs. Robert Morris 7 p.m. Starr Rink
Radio: WKXZ (94 FM – Oneonta, N.Y.) – John McGraw on the call
It may seem like the Colgate men's hockey team hasn't played in the friendly confines of Starr Rink since the Richard Nixon administration. Ok, maybe that is going overboard. For the first time in two months, the Raiders return home and will host its last pair of non-conference games of the season as Robert Morris comes to town Friday and Saturday evenings. This series with the Colonials kicks off a span in which Colgate will play its next four games and seven of its next nine contests at home. The Raiders rallied to down Princeton 5-4 in overtime on November 21 in their last home appearance. Last time out, Colgate split its two games in the North Country, falling to St. Lawrence 4-0 and then erupting for four goals in the third period in a 6-2 victory over Clarkson. The victory over the Golden Knights snapped the Raiders' four-game losing streak.
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 277-262-63 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 HISTORY
There is a stark contrast as far as the Raiders' all-time results between January 22 and January 23 go. Colgate is 3-10-1 all-time in games played on January 22, but 9-4-1 in contests the following night. The Raiders are 1-6-1 in their last eight games on the 22nd. Colgate hadn't lost in eight consecutive games played on January 23 (7-0-1) until a 4-1 defeat at the hands of Brown last year at Starr Rink. The Raiders have only played on these dates back-to-back three different occasions in 1988, 1993, and 1999. Colgate split the first two weekends, but went 0-1-1 versus Cornell in 1999.
January 22, 2000 – Andy McDonald and P.J. Yedon each posted a goal and an assist as Colgate downed Dartmouth 5-2 at Starr Rink. The Raiders led 2-0 after the first two periods, but Big Green scored back-to-back goals in the third to tie the game at 2-2 at 10:43. Colgate responded by erupting for three goals in a span of 2:34 to take command. McDonald's 10th goal at 12:00 proved to be the game winner. Shep Harder made 30 saves in the win.
January 23, 1999 – Andy McDonald scored the game tying goal at 12:31 of the second period from Cory Murphy and Jed Whitchurch as Colgate and Cornell played to a 1-1 draw in front of an announced crowd of 2,432 at Starr Rink. The two teams combined to go 1 of 18 on the power play, with McDonald's goal being the lone score with the man advantage. Current Colgate assistant coach Jason Lefevre posted 36 saves in the draw, including turning aside four in overtime.
THE SERIES RECORDS
Colgate has prevailed in all three previous meetings over Robert Morris. The Colonials came to Hamilton for a pair of games in the 2007-2008 campaign, falling 4-3 and 5-0. The Raiders downed Robert Morris 5-2 in the opening round of the Governors'Cup at the Times-Union Arena in Albany last season. Colgate posted four goals in the opening period, three by Brian Day. A sophomore at the time, Day scored an even strength goal at 7:31; a power play goal at 8:58 and then a shorthanded goal at 17:15 for his first collegiate hat trick. It was the first-ever three-goal game in the tournament's history. Day became the first Raider to secure a hat trick of this progression since Kyle Wilson accomplished the feat in a 6-1 victory over Army on October 24, 2005. Tom Riley's power play goal at 4:18 of the first gave the Raiders the lead for good. After RMU chopped the deficit to 4-2 with two goals in a 53-second span, Francois Brisebois gave Colgate a three-goal lead with his first of the year at 7:06 in the second period. Charles Long made 20 saves in the victory.
SCORING AGAINST ROBERT MORRIS
In the previous three meetings between Robert Morris, eight current Raiders have combined for 21 points against the Colonials. Brian Day (4-2-6) and David McIntyre (1-4-5) lead the scoring, with Francois Brisebois (1-3-4) right behind them. Rounding out the scoring for Colgate are Jason Williams (1-1-2), Kevin McNamara (1-0-1), Austin Smith (0-1-1), Wade Poplawski (0-1-1), and Nick Prockow (0-1-1).
ROBERT MORRIS IN BRIEF
Sporting a 7-12-3 record, Robert Morris comes into the weekend riding a four-game win streak. The Colonials come into the clash following a two-game sweep of College Hockey America rival Alabama Huntsville in Pittsburgh (3-2, 4-2). However, RMU stunned college hockey the previous week by sweeping former top-ranked Miami in a home and home series, 3-1 in Pittsburgh and 3-2 in Oxford, Ohio 48 hours later. Among the Colonials' first three victories include wins over Alaska-Anchorage, Niagara and an 8-5 shootout over then nationally-ranked Quinnipiac. The offense features seven players with 10 or more points, two with 20 or more. Juniors Nathan Longpre (10-15-25) and Chris Kushneriuk (11-13-24) are the top two point producers. Junior defenseman Denny Urban (7-10-17) does provide a scoring threat from the blueline. Sophomore netminder Brooks Ostergard, the national goalie of the week two weeks ago, is 6-9-2 between the pipes with a 3.25 goals against average and a .909 save percentage.
FAMILIAR FACES ON THE OPPOSING BENCHES
Last Saturday's game at Clarkson kicked off a three weekend stretch in which a Colgate alum will be on the opposing team's bench. Greg Dreschel '88 serves as an associate head coach at Clarkson. The former standout ranks 24th on Colgate's all-time scoring list with 130 points. The native of Bramalea, Ontario holds Colgate's single-season record for shorthanded goals in a season with eight set in 1986-87, three of which came against Rensselaer in one game. This weekend, Matt Nicholson '04 returns to Hamilton. He is in his first year as an assistant at Robert Morris. The native of London, Ontario, played 123 games at defense for the Raiders and posted 12 points. Next weekend, Dreschel returns to Starr Rink on Friday evening.
LAST WEEKEND IN BRIEF
For the second consecutive year, Colgate came out of the North Country with two points. Friday evening, St. Lawrence erupted for four goals in the third period in a 4-0 victory. The following evening, the Raiders broke open a one-goal game with three unanswered goals in a 6-2 victory over Clarkson. David McIntyre netted a three-point evening against the Golden Knights with two goals and an assist, while Matt Firman posted his second career two-goal game. Alex Evin posted 26 saves in the win and improved to 3-3-2 on the year.
STREAK SNAPPED
When St. Lawrence bested the Raiders 4-0 at Appleton Arena, it snapped a streak of 47 games in which Colgate hadn't been shutout. The last time the Raiders were blanked happened on November 21, 2009 in a 1-0 loss to Dartmouth at Starr Rink. One has to go back to March 14, 2008, which was the last time Colgate suffered a shutout in a road contest as Clarkson blanked the Raiders 1-0 in the first game of an ECAC Hockey Tournament second round series.
HOME AWAY FROM HOME
Colgate seems to be rather comfortable when playing Clarkson at Cheel Arena. With their 6-2 victory over the Golden Knights Saturday evening, the Raiders improved 4-0-3 in their last seven regular-season games in Potsdam. Colgate's last loss at Clarkson during the regular season was a 6-0 setback on January 4, 2003. Including play-off games, the Raiders are 5-1-4 in their last 10 games at Cheel Arena.
FIRMAN VERSUS CLARKSON
Sophomore Matt Firman has posted five collegiate goals thus far in his career with three coming versus Clarkson. Last season, he scored his first ever goal on January 30 in a 3-1 victory at Cheel Arena. He added two more against the Golden Knights in a 6-2 victory Saturday evening. All three of the goals versus Clarkson have come at the expense of his former teammate at Northwood School, Richie LaVeau.
WHO'S HOT
Brian Day and Austin Smith head into this weekend's play as the hottest Raiders, offensively speaking. Both Day (3-6-9) and Smith (1-8-9) have nine points in their last six outings. Smith's ninth goal of the year versus Clarkson snapped a stretch in which his previous nine points had come off assists. David McIntyre (4-1-5) is averaging a point per game in his last five appearances.
POINT PER GAME SMITTY
Heading into this weekend, Austin Smith is averaging a point per game in his career. The sophomore has played in 58 games and has 26 goals and 32 assists thus far in his career. Smith has 14 multi-point games in his career, including two four-point performances to his credit – one versus Quinnipiac last year and a four-assist evening at Canisius on December 20, 2009.
LENDING A HELPING HAND
The Raiders have two players ranked nationally among the top 25 in assists. Austin Smith is 12th overall, averaging 0.85 helpers per outing. Nine of his last 10 points have come on assists. David McIntyre is tied for 25th nationally averaging 0.75 assists per game. Smith leads ECAC Hockey with 18 assists, while McIntyre is third with 16, only two behind Smith.
THE POWER PLAY
In 13 of its last 16 games, Colgate has posted at least one power play goal. The Raiders had previously scored a power play goal in nine consecutive games until December 6 when the Union penalty kill held Colgate scoreless in two power play opportunities. In the following game, the Raiders unloaded for four power play goals in six man advantages in a 7-6 overtime loss at Canisius. Since opening 1 of 26 on the power play, Colgate has scored 17 times in its last 82 power play opportunities (.207).
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 this weekend's play versus Robert Morris with 115 career points, which stands tied for 31st on the all-time list with Jamie Cooke. His three-point effort at Clarkson moved him by Jesse Winchester on the scoring list. McIntyre can pass Chris Renaud for 30th with two points and needs four points to move into 29th by Rick Mirabelli.
FREE WILLIE
With his two appearances versus St. Lawrence and Clarkson, Jason Williams has moved into a tie for 14th on the all-time games played list at Colgate. The senior has played in 138 games which is tied with Cory Murphy, Etienne Morin and Kyle Doyle. Two more appearances this weekend and Williams will pass Kyle Wilson (139) and move into a tie with Dave Thomas for 12th. Tyler Burton holds the all-time record with 158 games played. David McIntyre (136) and Ethan Cox (135) are expected to join Williams among the top 10 all-time at some point this season.
STREAKING RAIDERS
The 2009-2010 season has seen the Raiders either continue old streaks or put together new ones.
Went into overtime in the season-opener at Niagara to continue streak dating back to last season of eight consecutive overtime appearances.
First three games were determined by a goal or less to increase the consecutive streak to 14 consecutive dating back to last season.
Had a six-game unbeaten streak from October 30-November 20 going 4-0-2.
Posted three goals or more in nine consecutive games from October 23-November 24.
Had a power play goal in nine-consecutive games from October 30-December 4
Had a streak of nine consecutive games in which at least one Raider posted a multi-point game from October 30-December 4.
NATIONALLY SPEAKING
As of January 17, Colgate had a strong presence in national statistical categories as six skaters were ranked among the top 50 in the country. They are as follows …
Austin Smith – 12th in assists per game (0.86), T18th in points per game (1.29); T19 in shorthanded goals (1),T11 in game winning goals (3)
Brian Day – 18th in goals per game (0.63), T24 power play goals (5), and 45th in points per game (1.11),
Thomas Larkin – T41 in points per game for a defenseman (0.61) and 28 in points per game for a rookie (0.61)
David McIntyre – T25 in assists per game (0.75) and 34th in points per game (1.15)
Francois Brisebois – T35 in game winning goals (2)
Jason Williams – T19 in shorthanded goals (1)
THE PRICE IS RIGHT
Freshman Jeremy Price was one of four rookies nationally to gain honorable mention rookie of the month honors by the Hockey Commissioner's Association for the month of December. The defenseman tallied two goals in three games, both coming in an overtime loss to Canisius. He became the first defenseman to net two goals in the same game since Jason Fredricks on January 8, 2009 in a 5-4 overtime victory over Lake Superior State
FRESHMEN IMPACT
After 21 games, the Colgate freshmen have integrated themselves rather well as far as posting points. The freshman class is averaging nearly 1.90 points per game with a combined 40 points (14 goals, 26 assists) thus far. 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. Defenseman Thomas Larkin (2-9-11) leads the rookies in scoring with Bourdon (4-6-10) right on his heels.
RELATIVA ALL'ELENCO (On the list in Italian)
With his goal versus Clarkson, freshman Thomas Larkin moved onto the all-time top 10 list for goals scored by a blueliner in his rookie season. His two goals ties him with 12 others for eighth on the single season list. Current Raider Kevin McNamara is among the group with Larkin as he posted two goals during the 2007-08 season. Larkin is five points away from tying Lennox Sterling, Steve Poapst and Mike Campaner for eighth on the single season point list for a rookie defenseman.
43rd IS GOOD IN THIS INSTANCE
Despite committing an uncharacteristic 50 penalty minutes in their last two games in the North Country, Colgate is ranked 43rd in the nation averaging 12.4 penalty minutes per game. Alaska remains the least penalized school in the country at 9.3, while its rival to the south, Alaska Anchorage posts on average 21.7, which is the most in the nation.
HITTING 1,000
With his 16-save performance versus Notre Dame, Charles Long became the 17th goalie in Colgate history to reach 1,000 career saves. The senior posted 22 saves versus St. Lawrence to up his total to 1,058 for his career.
HIGHEST TWO-GAME OUTPUT
Colgate scored 11 goals in its last two games before the Christmas break versus Rensselaer and Canisius. It was the highest two-goal output since the Raiders outscored Rensselaer and Union 12-0 at home February 15-16, 2008. It's the highest two-game scoring output away from Starr Rink since the 2003-04 season, December 12 and 28th when Colgate posted 11 goals at Sacred Heart and against Northeastern in the first round of the Rensselaer Holiday Tournament in Troy, N.Y.
EVIN SAYS NO SOUP FOR MV-T
In Colgate's 3-1 loss at Union, Alex Evin stopped Mario Valery-Trabucco on a penalty shot in the second period. It was the first penalty shot against Colgate since March 19, 2004 when former Raider standout Steve Silverthorn stopped Clarkson's Chris Blight in an ECAC Hockey semifinal match-up. The opposition has only scored three times in nine tries against Colgate goalies – the last coming on January 4, 2003 as Randy Jones beat Silverthorn in a 6-0 Raider loss.
RPI OUTBURST
Colgate's five-goal outburst was the most goals scored by the Raiders against the Engineers since a 5-4 victory at Starr Rink back on February 18, 2000. The performance also served as the most goals scored by Colgate at Rensselaer in close to 15 years. The Raiders posted a 6-3 win at Houston Fieldhouse on January 16, 1995.
40 SOMETHING ON SATURDAYS
In back-to-back Saturday performances against Yale (11/14) and Princeton (11/21), Colgate goalies posted 40 or more saves. On November 14, Charles Long saved a career-high 41 shots in a 3-3 tie with the then 11th-ranked Bulldogs. 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 the Tigers at Starr Rink, In the opening Saturday of league play, Long tallied 38 saves in a victory over Dartmouth (11/7).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
