MEN'S HOCKEY GAME CENTRAL

HAMILTON, N.Y. (2/1/12) – The 20th-ranked Colgate men's hockey team will hope to build off of its weekend sweep of Cornell as the Raiders travel to the Capital District to face No. 11/12 Union and Rensselaer.

Friday night's matchup at Union at 7 p.m. is a huge game featuring two of the three top teams in ECAC Hockey. The Dutchmen sit atop the league with 21 points, while Colgate is tied for third with Harvard with 17 points. Saturday's game at Rensselaer will be broadcast live on Time Warner Cable Sports in Albany and TWCS2 (Channel 1026) in Central New York. For all game day information, visit the Men's Hockey Game Central webpage.

THIS WEEK: A VISIT TO THE CAPITAL DISTRICT
For the first time since beating Rensselaer and Union in last year's ECAC Hockey playoffs, the Raiders return to the Capital District to take on the nationally-ranked Dutchmen on Friday night, followed by a matchup with the Engineers on Saturday. Union is 15-6-6 this season and continues to be consistent in the national rankings. The Dutchmen are 6-1-1 in their last eight games and swept Clarkson and St. Lawrence at home last weekend. During the two games, Union outscored its opponents 11-2, including a 6-0 win over the Saints. Rensselaer started off the season with just three wins in its first 19 games. However, the Engineers are 4-2-1 over their last seven games, including a 4-0 shutout of St. Lawrence. Clarkson ended a season-long three-game win streak for Rensselaer with a 3-2 win.

LAST WEEK: SWEEPING AWAY CORNELL
The Raiders halted their six-game winless streak in emphatic fashion after sweeping rival Cornell for the first time since 2003-04. The weekend started with two goals in the first period by Chris Wagner and Joe Wilson. Cornell inched closer with a goal in the second period, but Colgate responded with one of its best defensive periods of the season, allowing just one shot and the Raiders came away with a 2-1 win at Lynah Rink. The next night, it was the offense that came alive in the third period. Colgate was down 3-1 going into the third and had not won a game this season when trailing after two. That didn't faze the Raiders as they scored four goals in the final 20 minutes to earn the 5-3 win. Wilson got it started with a great play on a forecheck, Austin Smith tied it with a shortie and then Robbie Bourdon gave Colgate a 4-3 lead with a power play goal. Thomas Larkin sealed the deal with a empty-netter in the final minute.

NEXT WEEK: YALE AND BROWN INVADE STARR RINK
Colgate will be back at Starr Rink next weekend to take on Yale and Brown. The Raiders will be taking on two different teams than what they saw in early November. The Bulldogs have struggled recently with just one win in their last six games, which came against Dartmouth. Yale was down 4-1 in the game and fired back with four goals in the final two periods. The Bears are 2-3-0 in their last five games and dropped both games last weekend at Dartmouth and Harvard.

COLGATE BY THE NUMBERS
   309 - Career wins for Raiders head coach Don Vaughan.   
      87 - Votes earned by Colgate in USCHO.com Poll    
      42 - Goals by seniors (52% of scoring).    
      38 - Career multi-point games by A. Smith.    
      23 - 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.    
      15 - Games allowing two or less goals (10-2-3).    
      15 - Career multi-goal games by A. Smith (8 in 2011-12).    
      13 - Raiders that have multi-point games this year.    
      11 - Wins when leading after two periods.    
      11 - Games with four or more goals (10-1-0).    
      10 - Shorthanded goals this season (6 by A. Smith).       
        9 - Players with power play goals.      
        9 - Wins on Friday night this year (9-2-1).      
        8 - Skaters with at least 100 games played in career.      
        4 - Largest winning margin this season (twice)      
        6 - Overtime games this season (2-1-3).      
        5 - Wins over nationally-ranked teams.      
        4 - Number of players in the top-25 on the all-time scoring list that have worn or are wearing the #9.      
        4 - Goals scored in the third period against Cornell, most in a period since four against Union in playoffs.      
        2 - Games left against current nationally-ranked teams.      
        1 - Shutouts this season.

RAIDERS BACK IN RANKINGS
After spending one week outside the top-20, Colgate got back in the national rankings at No. 20 in the USCHO.com National Poll. The Raiders were not in the rankings for the first time since hosting Miami in mid-October. Colgate is receiving votes in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll. Colgate is joined by Union and Cornell as ECAC Hockey teams in the polls

TOP DUOS IN THE COUNTRY
With Austin Smith and Chris Wagner having 30 or more points each, Colgate is one of six teams in the nation with two skaters with 30 or more points. Colgate is joined by Denver, Maine, Minnesota-Duluth, North Dakota and Wisconsin. The duo of Mark Zengerle and Justin Schultz of Wisconsin is tops in the nation with 77 combined points. Austin Smith and Chris Wagner are third in the country with 75 points together.

WILSON EARNS RECOGNITION
Joe Wilson has been on the first line all season and the month of January he really made an impact. He tallied seven points during the month, which was third in the league among rookies. He had four goals and three assists and is riding a four-game point streak. Wilson was named ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Week after scoring twice and adding two helpers in the weekend sweep of Cornell. He ranks ninth among rookies in the league with 13 points.

RISING THE RANKS
Austin Smith has 144 points in his career and continues to average a point a game in his career as he has played 140 games. He passed former teammate and recent NHLer, David McIntyre '10 for 23rd all-time on the Colgate scoring list and is now alone in 22nd and four points away. Smith has 69 goals and 75 helpers. His 69 scores is just outside the all-time top-10 and he passed Andy McDonald '00 last weekend with the two scores against Cornell. He regained the points lead in the country with 41 and still leads in goals with 26. Smith is the first to reach 25 or more goals since McDonald did it in 1999-2000.

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.

Coach Vaughan on USCHO's Hobey Watch, talking Austin Smith. CLICK HERE.

GOALS FOR GOOD UPDATE
There's only four weekends left in the regular season, and the standings have drastically changed since the start of the inaugural Goals For Good competition. Colgate University remains in first place with $3,331 for the Brendan Borek High Tides Memorial Fund. Harvard has done outstanding work jumping up to second place having raised $681 for the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation. A mainstay in the top three, Brown sits in third place with $478 raised for the Thomas E. Smith Fight to Cure Paralysis.

TOP-5
1. Colgate $3,331`
2. Harvard $681
3. Brown $478
4. Dartmouth $403
5. Princeton $371

DON'T FORGET ABOUT ME
Chris Wagner has been just as consistent as Smith with 10 goals and 24 assists for 34 points, which is second in the league behind his linemate. He has already eclipsed his scoring from a season ago as he had 19 points. Wagner is riding a seven-game points streak and has nine goals during the streak and four multi-point games. He is eighth in the nation with 24 helpers and fifth in assists per game. Wagner is 10th in the country in points per game and is second in ECAC in assists.

UNDER THE RADAR
Robbie Bourdon doesn't play on the top line, but has made his impact as the top forward on the second line. He has nine goals and five assists for 14 points. He leads the team with five power play goals this season and had the gamewinner on the man advantage against Cornell last Saturday. Bourdon is definitely clutch with his scoring as seven of his 30 career goals have been gamewinners, including the series-winner against RPI last year. He had six GWGs in his first two seasons.

WEARING THE #9 FOR COLGATE
In the history of Colgate hockey, 14 players have worn the number nine and five of them are in the top-20 in all-time scoring at Colgate. Mike Harder '97 wore the number and is the all-time leading scorer with 214 points. Tyler Burton '08 had 158 points in his career with the number, while Steve Spott '90 tallied 150 points. Joey Cyr is hanging on at No. 24 all-time in scoring with 133. Austin Smith is ranked four among the 9s at 141 points and 22nd all-time.

PRICE IS RIGHT
Jeremy Price has been the top blueliner for most of the season for Colgate and he has 16 points on two goals and 14 assists to lead all defensemen on the Raiders. Price is tied for sixth in the league among blueliners in points and is third in assists. He has 10 points in his last 12 games, including a three-point outing against St. Lawrence on Dec. 3.

AN EXPERIENCED GROUP
The Raiders have one of the most experienced teams in the conference with eight players with 100 or more games played. Kevin McNamara and Austin Smith have appeared in 140 games, becoming the 15th and 16th players to reach 140 games in Colgate history.  Nick Prockow and Corbin McPherson will join them this weekend as they each have played in 139 games. There is also experience in net as Alex Evin has appeared in 58 career games and Mihalik has seen action in 44 games in his first two years.

SHORTHANDED KILLERS
After just one shorthanded goal all of last season and becoming the last team in D-I to score shorthanded, the Raiders have caught fire during penalty killing this year with 10 shorthanded goals after two against Cornell. Austin Smith has been a one-man wrecking crew with six of the 10 to lead the nation in shorties. Chris Wagner added his second to start the scoring in the 2-1 win at Cornell. When scoring a shortie, Colgate is 8-1-0 this season with the lone loss coming against Dartmouth at home. Colgate has three shorties in the last three games.

HOLDING A LEAD
The Raiders have gone into the third period with a lead in 13 games this season. After starting the year undefeated in the first 10 games, they hit a two-game skid, but rebounding with their best third-period defensive efforts to earn a 2-1 win at Cornell. In eight of the 13 games, the lead has only been one-goal. That lead is important for the Raiders as they are 3-7-3 when tied or losing after two. Colgate came back from a third period deficit for the first time this year and it was two goals against Cornell on Jan. 28. Scoring three or more goals has been huge for Colgate as the Raiders are 13-3-0 when that happens.

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 90 of Colgate's 213 total points. The seniors have scored 42 goals and have tallied 48 assists. They have netted more than half of the Raiders' goals this year. Over the weekend sweep of Cornell, Colgate spread out its scoring with goals from all four classes, including two from a rookie and a senior.

VS. RANKED OPPONENTS
The Raiders started off great against ranked opponents with wins over #14 Nebraska-Omaha and #4/5 Miami, and Colgate has three wins over ranked opponents in its last eight matchups. The Raiders have played 10 games against ranked opponents and they are 5-4-1 overall after sweeping #6/9 Cornell. Union is the only ranked team left that the Raiders will play in the regular season. Last season, Colgate faced 18 schools that were ranked in the top-20 and posted a 6-11-1 record, including a 4-4 record down the stretch during last year's playoffs.

SCOUTING THE DUTCHMEN
Union is coming off two wins this weekend against Clarkson and St. Lawrence and has a 15-6-6 record overall and a 9-3-3 record in conference play to lead the league. The Dutchmen took over first after Colgate swept Cornell and Union won both. The Dutchmen have only lost one game in its last eight (6-1-1) and have a 1.36 goals against average in those last eight games. They are second in the nation in scoring margin by outscoring their opponents by an average of 1.63 per game.

Jeremy Welsh is tops in goal scoring for Union with 18 goals from his 24 points. He has nine power play goals and nine goals in conference play. Senior Kelly Zajac is the leader in ECAC Hockey with 25 on the year and has 31 points and also leads the team with 17 points in conference play. Daniel Carr sits second on the team with 25 points on 12 goals and 13 assists and is second with eight power play goals.

In net, Union is defended by ECAC Hockey Goaltender of the Week, sophomore Troy Grosenick, who has posted a .940 save percentage. Grosenick helped them earn two wins this weekend with stopping 56 of the 58 shots. He leads the league in save percentage and goals against average at 1.58. He has posted four shutouts this season after coming into the year without one.

SERIES HISTORY
The Raiders and Union have matched up 57 times prior to this weekend and Colgate has had the advantage in the series with a 37-18-2 advantage since the first meeting back in 1928-29. The two schools have played just about even the last 14 games with Union holding a slim 7-6-1 lead. The two teams faced each other in the playoffs last season for the first time in the series and the Raiders pulled off the upset to advance to Atlantic City. After losing the first game, it took four third-period goals in game two to earn a 4-2 win and then Wade Poplawski scored the series winner in overtime to win the series.

SCOUTING THE ENGINEERS
Rensselaer enters the weekend with a 7-18-1 overall record and a 4-9-1 mark in conference play. The Engineers had a tough non-conference schedule to start the season with two at Ferris State, two at home against Colorado College and one on the road against Notre Dame. They lost all those games and came into 2012 with a 3-15-0 record. Since then RPI is 4-3-1, so things are improving in Troy.

The Engineers have three players tied for leading the team in goals with 5, Nick Bailen, Marty O'Grady and Ryan Haggerty.  Brock Higgs leads the team in helpers with 14 for a total of 15 points. The senior defenseman Bailen leads RPI in points with 16 and is second in power play goals with four as Haggerty has five. O'Grady and CJ Lee both sit at third for the Engineers with 10 points a piece.

In goal, Bryce Merriam, who had the task of replacing four-year starter Allen York, has put together a 6-13-0 season so far with three shutouts, including two in the last four games. He has posted a 2.31 goals against average, and a total of 467 saves for a .916 save percentage.

SERIES HISTORY
Rensselaer and Colgate will be playing for the 116th time on Friday night since 1915-16 and this series is the oldest in Raiders hockey history as it stretches 97 years. Colgate has played more games against Clarkson and Cornell, but those two series began in 1927. Colgate's first ever game was against the Engineers in 1915-16 with the Raiders winning 6-1. It was the only game of the season. The Engineers have a slight advantage at 56-55-3, which is tied for the closest series for Colgate. The series with Quinnipiac is 10-9-2 in favor of the Bobcats. Colgate added to its win total in the series, last year with a come-from-behind series win at Houston Field House in last year's playoffs. After losing 4-2 in game one, the Raiders got two goals from Nick Prockow in game two's win and then Robbie Bourdon scored in double-OT to win the series.