BOX SCORE

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (3/18/11) – The Colgate men's hockey team had its run through the ECAC Hockey playoffs halted by second-seeded Yale as the Raiders fell to the Bulldogs, 4-0, in the conference semifinals at Boardwalk Hall.

Colgate will be in the third-place game tomorrow at 4:30 against either Cornell or Dartmouth. That game will not be televised on CBS College Sports, but will be available through the ECAC Hockey web site.

The Raiders (11-27-3) currently have a 4-3 playoff record, which includes two series wins over ranked opponents and they eliminated two of the top-5 seeds in the tournament. The Raiders have an 8-5-1 record in their last 14 games and had won four of its last five games coming into tonight's game. Eric Mihalik was one of the reasons for the success and he finished with 36 saves. He came through during the playoffs with four 30-plus save efforts.

Third-ranked Yale saw Andrew Miller tally three points on a goal and three assists. Chris Cahill had two points on a goal and an assist, while Brian O'Neill posted two assists. Ryan Rondeau pushed aside all 22 Colgate shots to earn his fifth shutout of the season.

“I am proud of our team,” said Colgate head coach Don Vaughan, “especially our seniors, who did a great job leading this team all season long. We had a tough year, but they and the rest of this team didn't quit.”

Yale (26-6-1) had the best chance of a scoreless first period as Laganiere took a shot above the faceoff circle that clanged off the post and Mihalik couldn't find the puck. Fortunately for the Raiders, Jeremy Price got behind the netminder to clear it out of the blue paint and keep the game scoreless.

Each team posted eight shots on goal in the first period. Colgate went scoreless on two power play chances and the Bulldogs earned one opportunity, but couldn't get it past Mihalik.

All four teams talked about the live boards prior to the weekend and it almost worked out for the Raiders just 18 seconds into the second period. Thomas Larkin looked to have deflected in a shot off the backboards, but the referees reviewed the play and determined that it was kicked into the net.

Yale went up 1-0 with 14:53 left in the second with a shot through traffic off of an offensive zone faceoff. Miller won the faceoff back to Cahill and he wasted no time putting a shot on net. The puck made it through a couple of screeners and lit the lamp.

The Raiders almost beat Rondeau again later in the period on the power play as Larkin fired a shot from the point that hit Day in shin pad, but it rang off the post and out of the crease. It was on Colgate's fourth chance with the extra man in the game and the Raiders remained scoreless.

The Bulldogs provided most of the pressure throughout the second period with a 19-6 shot advantage. Each team stayed scoreless on the power play with both earning two chances.

Yale increased the lead to 2-0 with 13:18 remaining on a goal from Agostino. O'Neill had his shot blocked and the puck came to Agostino below the faceoff dot on the right side. He had enough time to get a lot on his wrister. Mihalik made it over to the post, but the puck slipped under his glove as he tried to clamp down on it.

The Bulldogs made it 3-0 with 5:11 left after killing off a 4-3 advantage from the Raiders. Miller added to his point total on the night with the goal. O'Neill and Cahill were given the assists. Yale got into the zone on a 3-on-2 and Miller got open in the slot and beat Mihalik under the cross bar.

Laganiere closed out the scoring with an empty net goal with 15 seconds left in the game to put the final score at 4-0.

The Raiders were outshot 40-22 on the night and each team ended up scoreless on the power play. Colgate went without a goal on six chances, while Yale had three advantages.

NOTES: The Raiders made their 10th appearance all-time at ECAC Hockey Championship Weekend … this was the first ECAC Hockey Championship held in Atlantic City … the previous two venues were at Lake Placid and Albany … Colgate was shutout for only the second time this season … the Raiders were shutout against St. Lawrence 4-0 on Feb. 4 … since that game the Raiders are 8-5-1 … first time since the last meeting between Yale and Colgate on Feb. 25 that the Raiders and their opponent were scoreless after the first 20 minutes … Colgate was scored on first for the fourth-straight game … Colgate had a 0-2-1 against the third-ranked Elis this season … Brian Day, Francois Brisebois and Wade Poplawski will be playing in their final game in a Colgate uniform tomorrow night … the three got Colgate back to the ECAC Hockey Championship Weekend for the second time in their careers … they had a 9-4 record in elimination games, including a 4-1 record this season.