MEN'S HOCKEY GAME CENTRAL

HAMILTON, N.Y. (12/28/11) – The nationally-ranked Colgate men's hockey team will finish the 2011 calendar year on Friday night as the Raiders host Canisius at Starr Rink.

Colgate is back on the ice after a 20-day break from competition. The game is set for 7 p.m. and for all necessary game day links, fans can visit the Men's Hockey Game Central page.

THIS WEEK: RAIDERS CLOSE OUT 2011 WITH CANISIUS
The team will finish a three-week break for finals and the Christmas holiday, the Raiders will be back at Starr Rink on Dec. 30 to face upstate rival Canisius. The game will be the last of a stretch of six home games in the team's last seven games. The Golden Griffins are 4-10-3 this season and is on four-game losing streak and last played on Dec. 11 and lost to Robert Morris, 2-1. They were blown out in back-to-back games against Quinnipiac to begin the season with 7-1 and 4-0 losses. Canisius is 2-6-2 in its last 10 games with two wins over American International and ties with nationally-ranked Lake Superior State and Niagara. This will be the sixth meeting with Canisius and Colgate is 4-1-0 in the series and the teams last met back in 2009-10 with the Griffs winning 7-6 in overtime.

LAST TIME OUT: SKATING TO A TIE WITH #5 MERRIMACK
Robbie Bourdon scored late in the second period to erase a 1-0 Merrimack lead, but that was it for scoring on Saturday night as the battle between the No. 11/12 Colgate and fifth-ranked Warriors ended in a 1-1 tie. The Raiders extended their unbeaten streak to six games thanks to Bourdon's sixth of the season. Austin Smith and Kurtis Bartliff earned the assists on the goal. For Bartliff, it was his first game in the lineup since Oct. 14 against Miami. Eric Mihalik made 25 saves to earn his first tie of the year. The six-game unbeaten streak is the longest since 2009 and it was the sixth meeting against a ranked team for the Raiders and they are 3-2-1 in those games. It was the first 1-1 tie since Feb. 25 last year at Yale and during this unbeaten Colgate has allowed just eight goals total and have not allowed more than two in any single game.

NEXT WEEK: ON THE ROAD FOR TWO AT #11/12 FERRIS STATE
The Raiders will be on the road for two straight games for the first time since mid-November as Colgate travels to western Michigan to take on nationally-ranked Ferris State. The two schools will be meeting for the 10th time in the series and it is knotted up at 4-4-1. The Raiders are unbeaten in the last three against the Bulldogs at 2-0-1 and the last time the two met was back in 2008-09 when the teams skated to a 3-3 tie. Ferris State started out on first with six-straight wins and a 9-2-1 start. Since that start, they have sputtered to a 2-4-0 record after getting swept by Western Michigan and splitting with Notre Dame. The Bulldogs are 7-6-1 in the CCHA for the fifth spot in the standings. They are tough to play at home as they are 6-1-1 at Ewigleben Ice Arena.

COLGATE BY THE NUMBERS
   482 - Votes received by Colgate in the USCHO.com National Poll.
   306 - Career wins for Raiders head coach Don Vaughan.
   168 - Votes in the USA Today/USA Hockey Mag. Poll.
     22 - Goals during six-game unbeaten streak.
     19 - Players on the Raiders with at least one point.
     19 - Goals scored by Colgate in the first or last two minutes of periods.
     14 - Players on the team with at least one goal.
     12 - Raiders that have multi-point games this year.
     12 - Games allowing two or less goals (8-2-2).
     11 - Wins this season, fastest to 11 wins since 2004-05.
     10 - Straight weeks in USCHO.com Poll.
     10 - Colgate picked to finish 10th in both ECAC Hockey Preseason Polls.
       9 - Wins when leading after two periods.
       8 - Games with four or more goals (8-0-0).
       8 - Goals allowed during six-game unbeaten streak.
       7 - Wins on Friday night this year (7-1-0).
       6 - Shorthanded goals this season (5 by A. Smith).
       6 - Games left against current nationally-ranked teams.
       6 - Weeks in the USA Today/USA Hockey Mag. Poll.
       5 - One-goal games this season.
       4 - Power play goals against Niagara on Oct. 28, most in a single game since 2009.
       4 - Largest winning margin this season (twice)
       4 - Wins following a loss.
       4 - Overtime games this season (2-0-2).
       3 - Wins over nationally-ranked teams.
       1 - Shutouts this season.

RAIDERS RANKED
Colgate is ranked for the ninth-consecutive week, coming in at the 10th spot in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll and 12th in the nation according to the USCHO.com National Poll. Colgate sits at 11-4-2 on the season with three wins over ranked opponents. The Raiders are joined by three other ECAC Hockey schools in the USCHO poll as Union is still tops in the poll among league schools at 11th, while Cornell sits at No. 13 and Yale at No. 19. Colgate has spent the last five weeks in the USA Today poll and is one of two ECAC Hockey schools in the rankings with Union at No. 11. The Raiders have seven games left against teams that were in this week's polls. They are a top-10 school for the first time since 2006.

UNBEATEN STREAK AMONG COUNTRY'S BEST
The Raiders have been on their longest unbeaten streak since 2009 and currently the streak is among the country's best. Minnesota-Duluth and Robert Morris are the only other schools that are playing better than Colgate. The Bulldogs are 11-0-3 in their last 14 games, while the Colonials have gone unbeaten in their last seven contests. Northeastern and Niagara have been on six-game unbeaten streaks as well, as of Dec. 10.

AMONG TOP TEAMS
Colgate has really turned it around from last season and the defense has been a major factor. The Raiders are ranked 10th in the nation in scoring defense, as they are giving up 2.18 goals per game and have averaged 1.33 goals allowed during the unbeaten streak. The offense isn't far behind as Colgate is 15th in the nation in goals per game with 3.29.

IN GOOD COMPANY
Austin Smith has 131 points in his career and continues to average a point a game in his career as he has played 131 games. He is currently tied with former teammate and recent NHLer, David McIntyre '10. Smith has 61 goals and 70 helpers in his career and him and McIntyre are tied for 24th all-time in Colgate scoring. He is on his second eight-game point streak after earning an assist against Merrimack. Smith has tallied at least one point in all but one game and still leads the nation in goals with 18 and points per game at 1.65.

MIHALIK NAMED GOALIE OF THE WEEK
Mihalik was a major reason the Raiders earned the 1-1 tie with the Warriors Saturday with 25 saves in net, including five in overtime when Merrimack had a power play. It was his first tie of the season and he has given up four total goals in his last three starts. All three starts he has given up two or less goals. He made 21 stops after Merrimack went up 1-0 early in the first period. He was named goalie of the week earlier this season after Colgate took home the Mutual of Omaha Stampede with a win over Nebraska-Omaha. He is the third goaltender in the league to earn the honor twice, joining Troy Grosenick of Union and Andy Ilnes of Cornell.

DON'T FORGET ABOUT ME
Chris Wagner has enjoyed a great start to the season with seven goals and 13 assists for 20 points. He has already eclipsed his scoring from a season ago as he had 19 points. He enjoyed his best game as a Raider on Saturday against St. Lawrence with four points on two goals and two assists. He ranks second in ECAC Hockey in points with 20, which is seven behind Smith. He has torn it up lately with seven points in his last three games and has scored at least one point in six of the last seven games and has 12 points over that span. 

STRIKING EARLY & LATE
This season, Colgate has started and ended periods with strong performances as 19 of the team's 56 goals have come in the first or last two minutes of periods. The lone time it happened last weekend was against Clarkson on Friday night with Smith's empty netter. Against Vermont on Nov. 25, Colgate scored goals in the first and last two minutes of the second period and then added a third goal with 1:26 left in the final period. When Austin Smith had a hat trick against Quinnipiac, he scored all three in the final two minutes of each period.

SENIOR LEADERSHIP
The seniors have really stepped up as leaders this season and the scoresheet shows how. All eight skaters have earned points this year with Smith leading the way. The class has combined for 64 points on 30 goals and 34 assists. The 64 points are almost half of the team's output and they are 55 percent of the goal scoring. Evin has done his job in net as a senior with a 4-1-1 record and a 1.48 goals against average.

SHORTHANDED KILLERS
After just one shorthanded goal all of last season, the Raiders have caught fire during penalty killing this year with six shorthanded goals in their first 16 games. Austin Smith has been a one-man wrecking crew with five of the six to lead the nation in shorties. Chris Wagner added his first career shorthanded goal against Vermont and Smith assisted on the score. The six shorties for Colgate is tied with Boston University for the most in the country and when scoring shorthanded, Colgate is 5-0-0 on the season.

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN GRIFFINS
Coming into Hamilton, Canisius is on a four-game losing streak with all four games in conference play. The Golden Griffins have only won two of their last 11 games and are 2-7-2 during that stretch. Prior to the holiday break, they dropped games to Mercyhurst and Robert Morris. They fell in a shootout to the Lakers by a 6-4 score and then lost a tight game against the Colonials. Canisius is averaging 1.65 goals per game and allowing 2.88. The Griffs are being outscored 36-17 in the first two periods of games this year and has allowed 21 goals alone in the second period. The power play has struggled with just six goals on 64 chances for a 9.4 percent success rate.

Canisius has not scored a lot goals, but the team's scoring has been spread out as all but three skaters have points. Kyle Gibbons leads the Golden Griffins with 15 points on six goals and nine assists. He leads the team in all three categories. Taylor Law has contributed with 12 points with five goals and seven helpers and is tied with Preston Shupe for the team lead in power play goals with two. Ben Danford leads the blueline with seven points on a goal and six assists, while Torrey Lindsay had three goals and two assists for five points with two of the three goals coming shorthanded.

In goal, the Griffs have split time between Dan Morrison and Tony Capobianco between the pipes. Morrison is a senior that has started nine games and is 2-6-1 this year. He has given up 24 goals in 540 minutes in net for a 2.67 goals against average. He has a .917 save percentage with 264 saves on 288 shots. Capobianco has got starts in eight games and has a 2-4-2 record. He has posted a .925 save percentage and a 2.84 goals against average.

SERIES HISTORY
This will be the sixth meeting between these two upstate schools. The Raiders own a 4-1-0 advantage in the series, but Canisius won the last meeting back in 2009-10 by a 7-6 score in overtime. Colgate has dominated the series throughout the years with 45 goals in the five games played since the first game back in 1987-88. The Raiders have scored six or more goals in all five games with the largest margin of victory coming in 1988-89 by a 14-1 score. Colgate and Canisius will be playing at Starr Rink for the fifth time in the series and the Raiders are 4-0-0 all-time at Colgate's home rink.