MEN'S HOCKEY GAME CENTRAL

HAMILTON, N.Y. (1/11/12) – The nationally-ranked Colgate men's hockey team will be back in ECAC Hockey play this weekend as the Raiders travel to take on Princeton and Quinnipiac.

First up for Colgate is Princeton on Friday night at 7 p.m. at Hobey Baker Rink, followed by another Saturday afternoon game at 4 p.m. at Quinnipiac. Fans can view all necessary game day links by logging onto the Men's Hockey Game Central page.

THIS WEEK: BACK TO LEAGUE PLAY
League play reopens for the Raiders next weekend with visits to Princeton and Quinnipiac. It will be the first conference weekend since Colgate swept St. Lawrence and Clarkson in early December. This will be the second meeting this season between the Raiders and their two opponents. Colgate swept both teams during Silver Puck Weekend, outscoring the two teams by a 7-2 advantage. Princeton is coming off a split at Yale and Brown as the Tigers defeated the Bears 3-2 and then dropped a 6-2 decision at the Bulldogs. Quinnipiac was able to earn three conference points with a 2-1 win at Yale and a 2-2 tie with Brown. The Bobcats are 5-2-3 over their last 10 games, including a six-game unbeaten streak.

LAST WEEK: RAIDERS SWEPT ON THE ROAD AT FERRIS STATE
The Raiders did not have a success trip to Michigan as Colgate dropped two-straight games for the first time this season at 17th-ranked Ferris State. The Raiders had a 2-1 lead going into the third period, but couldn't hold off the Bulldogs and dropped a 3-2 decision after Ferris State scored twice in the third. Colgate tried to respond on Saturday, but after a scoreless first period, the Bulldogs put two on the board in the second and one in the third to skate away with a 3-1 win. The lone bright spot was Austin Smith extending his point streak to a career-long 11 games.  The two losses stopped a seven-game unbeaten streak that pushed Colgate up to seventh in the nation.

NEXT WEEK: RETURNING TO STARR FOR PAIR OF IVIES
Colgate will be back at Starr Rink next weekend as Harvard and Dartmouth makes the trip to central New York. The Raiders will be returning for the first time in the two weeks. The Crimson are coming off back-to-back ties with Union and Rensselaer. That has been the story of the season for Harvard as they are 4-4-6 overall and all six overtime games the Crimson has played have ended in ties and five of its last seven games have ended in ties. Harvard plays Union at Fenway Park on Saturday and then host Boston University on home ice. The Big Green is coming off a 1-1 weekend in league play with a win over Rensselaer and then a loss to Union. Dartmouth is 3-1-1 over its last five and play New Hampshire on Saturday in its annual rivalry game.

COLGATE BY THE NUMBERS
   392 - Votes received by Colgate in the USCHO.com National Poll.
   307 - Career wins for Raiders head coach Don Vaughan.
   108 - Votes in the USA Today/USA Hockey Mag. Poll.
     44 - Goals in the final two periods.
     35 - Goals by seniors (54% of scoring)
     20 - Goals scored by Colgate in the first or last two minutes of periods.
     20 - Players on the Raiders with at least one point.
     16 - Players on the team with at least one goal.
     13 - Games allowing two or less goals (9-2-2).
     12 - Raiders that have multi-point games this year.
     12 - Wins this season, fastest to 12 wins since 2004-05.
     12 - Straight weeks in USCHO.com Poll.
     10 - Wins when leading after two periods.
       9 - Games with four or more goals (9-0-0).
       9 - Players with power play goals.
       8 - Wins on Friday night this year (8-2-0).
       7 - Shorthanded goals this season (5 by A. Smith).
       7 - Weeks in the USA Today/USA Hockey Mag. Poll.
       6 - Skaters with at least 100 games played in career.
       4 - Games left against current nationally-ranked teams.
       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 12th-consecutive week, coming in at the 14th spot in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll and 12th in the nation according to the USCHO.com National Poll. The Raiders fell seven spots in the USA Today poll and three in the USCHO.com poll. Colgate is one of three ECAC Hockey schools to be ranked, joining ninth-ranked Cornell and No. 13/14 Union.

AMONG TOP TEAMS
Colgate has really turned it around from last season on both sides of the ice. The Raiders are currently fourth in the conference in scoring offense and defense. The Raiders are averaging 3.25 goals per game and are third in total goals with 65 in 20 games. On defense, they are giving up 2.3 goals per game and that went up after allowing just 10 goals during the seven-game unbeaten streak.

RISING THE RANKS
Austin Smith has 136 points in his career and continues to average a point a game in his career as he has played 134 games. He passed former teammate and recent NHLer, David McIntyre '10 for 23rd all-time on the Colgate scoring list. Smith has 63 goals and 73 helpers in his career for 136 points. Smith has tallied at least one point in all but one game in 2011-12 and is riding a career-high 11-game point streak. He was named ECAC Hockey's Player of the Month for the second-straight month after 10 points in four games in December.

VOTE SMITH FOR HOBEY
Fan voting for the Hobey Baker Award, which is given to the nation's top player, has begun and Colgate's Smith is among the names you fans can vote for. Your vote accounts for a full one percent for the total ballot. Award criteria include candidates emulating the exceptional character traits exhibited by the award's namesake, Hobey Baker, a World War I flying star better known as America's greatest amateur athlete in his day. Award candidates must demonstrate strength of character both on and off the ice, contribute to the integrity of his team and display outstanding skills in all phases of the game.  Consideration should be given to scholastic achievement and sportsmanship. VOTE HERE

GOALS FOR GOOD UPDATE
With conference play fully under way, its time to put in your donation for the Brendan Borak High Tides Memorial Fund. A reminder that fans can give a donation based on a per goal or per win basis. Also Goals for Good is not restricted to just men's teams, the women's teams are competing as well. So don't forget to donate based on each school's ice hockey teams. DONATE HERE!

TOP-5 STANDINGS
Colgate        $2,027
Brown          $315
Princeton     $193
Dartmouth   $100
Quinnipiac   $70

DON'T FORGET ABOUT ME
Chris Wagner has enjoyed a great start to the season with seven goals and 16 assists for 23 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 22. He has torn it up lately with 10 points in his last six games and has scored at least one point in eight of the last 10 games and has 15 points over that span. 

STRIKING EARLY & LATE
This season, Colgate has started and ended periods with strong performances as 20 of the team's 61 goals have come in the first or last two minutes of periods. Robbie Bourdon scored a power play goal in the last two minutes against Canisius. 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.

POWER PLAY COMING AROUND
The Raiders are sixth in the conference in power play percentage with 21 goals on 103 opportunities for a 20.4 percent success rate. Colgate has nine goals with the extra skater in the last nine games and had three against Canisius on Dec. 30. The Raiders have gotten goals on the power play from nine different skaters and Robbie Bourdon and Austin Mayer lead the way with four goals apiece with the extra man. When scoring on the power play, Colgate is 8-4-0.

LOOKING BACK AT 2011
With the win on Dec. 30, Colgate finished the calendar year of 2011 with 20 wins. The Raiders rebounded from a nine-game winless streak in early 2011 to go 20-9-4 during the rest of the year, including a trip to the ECAC Hockey Championship weekend. Austin Smith scored 24 goals and had 45 points during the year for the most on the team. Mihalik was over .500 during the year with a 16-14-2 record in 32 starts.

SHORTHANDED KILLERS
After just one shorthanded goal all of last season, the Raiders have caught fire during penalty killing this year with seven shorthanded goals in their first 18 games. Austin Smith has been a one-man wrecking crew with five of the seven to lead the nation in shorties. Chris Wagner added his first career shorthanded goal against Vermont and Smith assisted on the score. Austin Mayer added one last week against Canisius for his first shorthanded goal of the year. Only Boston University has more goals skating a man down as the Terriers have eight this season. The Raiders have scored a shortie in four of the last six games.

BLUE LINE SCORING
Of the top 10 scorers for the Raiders, four are defensemen. The four have combined for 42 points this season, led by Jeremy Price, who has 12 points on two goals and 10 helpers. Spiro Goulakos has been a welcomed addition this season and has come through with a goal and 10 assists for his 11 points after scoring his first collegiate goal last weekend. He has five points in his last six games. Kevin McNamara has 10 points and has reached double-digit points for the third time in his four years on the ice. He has three assists in his last three games. Thomas Larkin has contributed with nine points on two goals and seven helpers.

SCOUTING THE TIGERS
Princeton enters the weekend with a 1-1-2 record over the last two weekends. The Tigers split with Brown and Yale last weekend with a win over the Bears and a loss to the Bulldogs. They jumped back into league play after earning two ties at the Mariucci Classic at Minnesota. Princeton skated to 3-3 ties with Northeastern and Niagara. The Tigers are averaging 2.42 goals per game and allowing 3.16 scores a contest.

The Tigers have four skaters in double figures in points, led by Jack Berger and Michael Sdao with seven goals and seven assists for 14 points apiece. Berger also leads the team with three power play goals and has 10 points in ECAC Hockey play. Sdao is a defenseman and has six goals and eight assists and leads the team with 11 conference points. Andrew Calof is not far behind with 13 points overall on six goals and seven helpers, while Derrick Pallis has 10 points with two goals and eight assists.

In goal, Sean Bonar has been the primary netminder and has earned 13 starts and has a 4-6-1 record and one shutout. He has a 2.94 goals against average and a .899 save percentage. However, Mike Condon got both starts last weekend and earned his first win of the year against Brown. He has a 3.09 GAA and a .915 save percentage.

SERIES HISTORY
This will be the 98th meeting between these two schools, dating back to the first contest back in 1935-36. Colgate is holding onto a slim lead at 48-43-6 after defeating Princeton 4-1 in November. The Raiders have a 3-2-0 advantage over the last five and the Tigers have a 25-12-4 advantage at Hobey Baker Rink.

SCOUTING THE BOBCATS
Quinnipiac has been hot as of late with only one loss in its last nine games and have a 5-1-3 record during that time. The Bobcats are tied with Colgate as they have 12 points, but have played 12 conference games to the Raiders' eight. Quinnipiac earned three points last weekend with a win at Yale and a tie against Brown.

Connor Jones and Jeremy Langlois are 20-point scorers for the Bobcats as Jones had 21 points on five goals and 16 assists. Langlois leads the team with 12 goals and also has eight helpers for 20 points and six of those goals have come on the power play. Rookie Matthew Peca has 16 points in his first season, while Kellen Jones and Scott Zurevinski each have 15 points.

In goal, Eric Hartznell has made 16 starts this season and has a 6-4-5 record. He has given up 32 goals this season and has a 2.00 goals against average. He has made 351 saves and has collected a .901 save percentage. Dan Clarke has made eight starts and has a shutout. He has a 6-3-0 mark with a 2.05 GAA and a .901 save percentage.

SERIES HISTORY
Quinnipiac and Colgate have had some battles in the past and the series is currently tied at 9-9-2. They have played each other 20 times since the first meeting in 2005-06, including five times in 2008-09 that featured four overtime games. Three of the four came in the first round of the conference tournament as Quinnipiac won game one and three to move on in the tournament. Colgate stopped a five-game losing streak to the Bobcats with its 3-1 win in November.