MEN'S HOCKEY GAME CENTRAL

HAMILTON, N.Y. (12/28/10) – The Colgate men's hockey team returns to the ice at the Ledyard National Bank Classic at Dartmouth to face fifth-ranked Boston College on Dec. 30 at 4 p.m., followed by the Big Green or Mercyhurst on New Year's Eve.

The game links for live audio and live stats are available through the Men's Hockey Game Central link at gocolgateraiders.com.

ALL IN THE FAMILY
Brothers Kevin McNamara and Jack McNamara played together for the first time in the game against Niagara. The siblings are one of seven sets of brothers in ECAC Hockey. Last game against the Purple Eagles, both teams had a set of brothers with Paul and Marc Zanette and the McNamaras. Kevin and Jack will be playing their father's alma mater in the coming weeks at the Ledyard Bank Classic at Dartmouth on Dec. 30 as the Raiders take on Boston College. John McNamara played hockey for the Eagles from 1982-86.

DAY LOOKING FOR CAREER MILESTONE
Senior Brian Day became the 33rd skater in Colgate history to record his 50th career goal, which came on Nov. 23 at Niagara. Day scored on the power play in the third period. He has 52 goals and 46 assists for 98 points and is two points away from reaching the 100-point plateau. He will be the 49th skater to obtain the milestone. He had his longest scoring streak of the season snapped on Dec. 11 against Niagara after scoring in four straight. He has scored in six of his last seven games.

BOSTON COLLEGE BACK ON THE SCHEDULE
The Raiders will be taking on the defending national champion Eagles for the first time since the 1983-84 season. Boston College has owned the series with a 20-2 record against Colgate. The two schools played 22 games from 1934 to 1984, but haven't played since. The last time these two programs faced off, John McNamara (Kevin and Jack's father) was a skater for the Eagles.

MIHALIK NAMED GOALIE OF THE WEEK
Rookie Erik Mihalik became the first Raider to earn weekly awards from ECAC Hockey as he was named the MLX Skates Goaltender of the Week after stopping 63 shots in two games at Robert Morris. He was given his first back-to-back starts and played well in net for Colgate.

“LIFF”TING HIS GAME
With the season at the midpoint, sophomore Kurtis Bartliff has stepped up to become a scoring threat for the Raiders. He has already equaled his point total from last season with nine points on a goal and eight assists. His eight helpers are third on the team and are a career-high. He set game highs against Niagara on Dec. 11 with three assists for three points and has four in his last three games.

SMITH PASSES DEXTER ON ALL-TIME LIST
Austin Smith moved past assistant coach Brad Dexter on the all-time scoring list with three points in the two games at Robert Morris. He has scored 86 points in his two-plus seasons on 37 goals and 49 assists. Dexter was an All-American for the Raiders and Vaughan back in the mid-90s.

NO SOPHOMORE JINX
So far this season, the sophomore class has stepped up to lead the Raiders in scoring. The eight members of the Class of 2013 have combined for 41 points on 13 goals and 28 assists as all three are team-highs. Robbie Bourdon leads the way with 12 points, but one of the main contributors has been defenseman Thomas Larkin, who has already eclipsed his goal total from a season ago with four, which ranks third on the team.

McPHERSON'S MAKING 'EM COUNT
Junior Corbin McPherson has five goals in his career and when he tallies a goal, the Raiders are 5-0. He scored a career-high two goals in the 5-0 shutout win over Sacred Heart on Oct. 30 and had another against Army in the 3-0 win on Dec. 4. He posted two goals last season in wins and two of his five scores have been gamewinners.

MAKING AN UNUSUAL VISIT TO PA
With Robert Morris and Mercyhurst as the only two teams in Pennsylvania, Colgate doesn't have many opportunities to travel south. This will be the first time since 1991-92 that the Raiders will be in Pennsylvania. They played at Mercyhurst and beat the Lakers 7-5 that year. The Keystone State will soon have its third member in Penn State in 2012-13. Penn started a team in 1898, but the university dropped the sport from varsity competition in 1978.

NOT A GOOD RECIPE
So far this season, the recipe for the Raiders winning has been netting three or more goals and not allowing more than one. Colgate is 0-7-0 when scoring two or less and when the opponent scores two or more, the Raiders are 0-11-1. Another note is that Colgate has scored first in nine of its 16 games played and has a 3-6-0 mark in those contests. They are also 0-6-0 in one-goal games this season.

SCOUTING THE RAIDERS
Colgate enters the tournament with a 3-12-1 mark and will be facing its second nationally-ranked team in Boston College. The Raiders have had a disappointing first half with just three wins in 16 games and is on a three-game losing streak. Colgate has played four different Atlantic Hockey teams and with Mercyhurst playing this weekend, they could face their fifth.

Colgate has 19 different skaters with at least one point with 11 earning five or more points. Austin Smith has taken over as the team's leading scorer after a three-point weekend. He has 14 points on a team-high 10 assists, to go along with four goals. Smith is riding his longest point streak of the season at four games. Senior captain Brian Day has tallied a point in six of his last seven games and has 13 points, including a team-high eight goals. Day leads the team with four power play goals. Classmate Francois Brisebois is tied with Day with 13 points and is second on the team with nine assists. Junior Corbin McPherson leads all defensemen in points with seven on three goals and four assists.

In net, junior Alex Evin has started 12-of-16 games for the Raiders and has a 3-8-1 mark. He added his second career shutout on Dec. 4 against Army with 24 saves and has recorded an .902 save percentage and a goals against average of 2.84. Rookie Eric Mihalik earned back-to-back starts for the first time this year with the two games at Robert Morris. He made a season-high 39 stops in the 3-2 overtime loss on Saturday. Mihalik dropped his GAA to 3.78, but remains winless at 0-4.

On special teams, the power play is slowly getting back on track with eight goals in the last seven games. The Raiders have scored an extra man goal in the last four games. They have moved up to ninth in the conference with a 14.4 (13-of-90) success rate. On the kill, Colgate is 10th in ECAC Hockey at 79.7 percent, but has drastically improved from the beginning of the season.

SCOUTING THE EAGLES
Boston College meets the Raiders in Hanover with an 11-5-0 overall record and is ranked fifth in the most current USCHO.com National Poll. The Eagles have been impressive this season, averaging 3.75 goals a game and allowing just 2.12 goals per contest. They have scored three or more goals in 12 games this year. BC is coming off a weekend sweep of rival Boston University, outscoring the Terriers 14-7 in two games.

The Eagles have 11 players that have been drafted by NHL teams and their leading scorer Cam Atkinson is one of the players selected. He has 14 goals and seven assists for 21 points and six of his 14 tallies have come on the power play. He leads Hockey East in goals and is third in points. Brian Gibbons is second behind Atkinson with 20 points on seven goals and 13 helpers. His 13 assists are tied with Joe Whitney for the most on the team. Gibbons has three power play goals, two shorthanded goals and a gamewinner. Boston College has spread out its scoring with seven skaters with 10 or more points in 16 games. Brian Dumoulin is second on the team in assists with 10 and leads all defensemen in points.

In net, John Muse continues to play stellar between the pipes with a 10-3-0 mark and a 1.87 goals against average and a save percentage of .939. He leads Hockey East in all goaltending categories. He has given up just 24 goals in 13 starts. Parker Miner has seen action in three games and has a 1-2-0 record and a GAA of 2.70 and a save percentage of 2.70. Each netminder has a shutout as Muse has two on the year and Miner has one.

On the power play, the Eagles are ranked 10th in the nation on the power play and lead Hockey East with a 23.4 (18-for-77) percent success rate. A big strength on their team is the penalty kill as they are second in the nation, killing off 89.6 percent of opponent's chances. BC has given up just 11 power play goals in 106 opportunities.

SERIES HISTORY
Colgate and Boston College will be facing off for the 23rd time since 1934 and the first time since 1984. The Eagles have a commanding 20-2-0 advantage in the series. The last game was a 4-3 overtime win for Boston College and Colgate last won in 1982-83 with a 4-1 win at Home. The Eagles started the series with 18-straight wins over the Raiders until Colgate earned its first win in 1980-81 with a 6-3 win at Starr Rink.

SCOUTING THE LAKERS
Mercyhurst makes the visit to Dartmouth with a 7-9-1 overall mark and a 5-7-0 record in its first year in Atlantic Hockey. The Lakers are averaging 3.18 goals per game and have seen its opponents put 2.88 goals on the board per contest. Mercyhurst is coming off of a two-game sweep of Alabama-Huntsville with an 8-3 victory and 4-3 overtime win.

The Lakers have six players with 10 or points this season, led by Steve Cameron, who has 14 points on six goals and eight assists. Cameron is one of four players with six goals this year for Mercyhurst. Scott Pitt is tied with Cameron for the team lead in assists with eight and he has 13 points. Taylor Holstrom is tops on the team in power play goals with four as he is one of five players with at least one goal with the extra man. Nick Jones leads all blueliners with seven points on two goals and five assists on the year.

In net, Ryan Zapolski has started 12 games and has a 6-6-0 record with one shutout to his credit. He has posted a 2.70 goals against average and a save percentage of .920. Jordan Tibbett has started three games and appeared in four, for a record of 0-3-1. He has registered a save percentage of 917 and a goals against average of 2.81.

Mercyhurst has struggled on the power play and has failed to reach double-digits in 17 games and on 78 opportunities. The Lakers are 9-for-78 for a 11.5, which is fourth to last in the country. They are fairly successful on the penalty kill, allowing 15 power play goals on 76 chances for its opportunities for a 80.9 percent success rate.

SERIES HISTORY
Mercyhurst and the Raiders have played six games since 1992 and Colgate has a 5-1-0 record against the Lakers. The teams last played in 2004-05 as the Raiders swept Mercyhurst at Starr Rink in two, one-goal victories. In the first meeting, the Raiders came away with a 7-5 win in Western Pennsylvania in 1992. It was Colgate's last trip to PA until the matchup at Robert Morris a couple of weeks ago.

SCOUTING THE BIG GREEN
The Big Green enter their own tournament with just 11 games played and Dartmouth has a 6-4-1 mark and a 5-2-1 record in ECAC Hockey. The Big Green is averaging 3.64 goals per game, which puts them third in ECAC Hockey, behind top-ranked Yale and No. 13 Union. Dartmouth has allowed 2.55 goals per contest for fifth in ECAC Hockey. The Big Green has played just one game in a month and it was a 6-5 shootout loss to Vermont on Dec. 12. Prior to that loss, Dartmouth was on a three-game winning streak and was ranked as high as 18th in the nation.

Rookie Matt Lindblad leads the Big Green with 13 points on six goals and seven assists with four of the six tallies coming on the power play. He does not lead the team in either goals or assists. Nick Walsh leads the team in goals with seven on the season, while Doug Jones has 11 assists on the year for tops on the squad. Walsh and Jones have a total of 12 points. Scott Fleming has contributed with four goals and six assists for 10 points. Adam Estoclet has always been an offensive threat for the Big Green and he has four goals and three assists for seven points. He and Dustin Walsh are tied for second on the team with two goals with the extra man.

In net, James Mello has started eight games with one shutout and a 5-1-1 record. He is second in the nation in both goals against average and save percentage. He has posted a 1.67 GAA and a save percentage of .945. Mello had a rough go of it last time out against Vermont, allowing three goals in the first eight minutes of the game. Former Ivy League Rookie of the Year Jody O'Neill backs up Mello and has a 1-2-0 record in three appearances. He has posted a 3.86 goals against average and a save percentage of .866.

On the power play, the Big Green is 11-for-50 for a 22 percent success rate, which is near the top of the league. Dartmouth averages a goal a game on the power play. On the kill, the Big Green has allowed seven goals in 44 opportunities for a 84.1 killing percentage. Dartmouth is one of the least penalized teams in ECAC Hockey.

SERIES HISTORY
The Dartmouth-Colgate series is one of the most competitive in the country with the Raiders holding a game lead in the series at 40-39-5 in 84 games in the series. The teams have played exciting games the past two seasons with three games decided by one goal and one tie, which was a 6-6 score at Thompson Arena last season. The series has gone to overtime 12 times with Colgate holding a 5-2-5 advantage, which included a 4-3 win in four overtimes in the quarterfinals of the ECAC Hockey Tournament back in 2002-03. It still is the longest game in Colgate history as it was just over 121 minutes long with Kyle Wilson scoring the gamewinner. The series began in 1928-29 with Dartmouth winning 9-1 in Hamilton.