MEN'S HOCKEY GAME CENTRAL

HAMILTON, N.Y. (2/22/12) – The Colgate men's hockey team will look to sew up a first-round bye in the upcoming ECAC Hockey playoffs as Rensselaer and eighth-ranked Union visit Starr Rink this weekend.

Colgate needs two points over the last two games to receive a first-round bye in the upcoming ECAC Hockey Tournament. On Friday night, Rensselaer comes to Hamilton for a 7 p.m. start on Time Warner Cable Sports, while the Dutchmen and Raiders will take to the ice on Senior Day at 7 p.m. on Saturday. All necessary game day links are available on the Men's Hockey Game Central web page.

Also prior to Friday night's game against Rensselaer, the band Sirsy will be playing in the Reid Athletic Center Lobby. Fans that bring Sirsy merchandise (T-shirt, CD, etc) to the game will get a FREE General admission ticket to the game (each item is good for one ticket). To find out more information on Sirsy, visit their website or view one of their music videos on YouTube.

THIS WEEK: UNION & RPI FOR FINAL REGULAR SEASON WEEKEND
For the second time in the final four weeks of the season, Colgate will take on Rensselaer and Union. The two last met in the beginning of the month in the Capital District. After dropping a 3-1 decision at Messa Rink, the Raiders made up for it in a big way with an 8-3 triumph over the Engineers. Austin Smith had four goals in that game and Joe Wilson and Robbie Bourdon posted three points apiece. Union has continued to be at the top of the league standings and is riding a seven-game unbeaten streak and have won 10 of its last 12 games. The Engineers is tied with Brown for the bottom of the league with 13 points and got swept last weekend by Quinnipiac and Princeton.

LAST WEEK: TOUGH TRIP TO THE NORTH COUNTRY
Colgate was looking to clinch a first-round bye going into the weekend, but the Raiders were swept by St. Lawrence and Clarkson to keep them from earning a top-4 spot as of now. At the Saints, where Colgate has struggled recently, the Raiders dug themselves into a deep hole as St. Lawrence scored three power play goals in the first two periods to build a 3-0 lead. The Raiders fought back with goals by Smith and Wagner, but the comeback fell short as Colgate lost 3-2. The next night, Clarkson earned a 2-0 lead and packed it in with a neutral-zone trap. Wagner was able to cut the lead to 2-1 with his 12th goal of the year coming with 1.8 seconds left. Unfortunately, it was too late for Colgate and the Raiders lost another one-goal game on the weekend.

NEXT WEEK: ECAC HOCKEY PLAYOFFS BEGIN
The ECAC Hockey Tournament will be starting next weekend and Colgate will not know if it will be home watching the first round or hosting one of the bottom four teams. The Raiders need two points this weekend to earn the bye. The teams positioning is also up in the air as Colgate can clinch the third spot with the two points or possibly fall to seventh, depending on what happens this weekend. Union and Cornell are still fighting for the Cleary Cup, which is given to the league's top regular-season team and the two play in a huge game on Friday night at Lynah Rink. Clarkson and Harvard are also fighting for a first-round bye.

COLGATE BY THE NUMBERS
   312 - Career wins for Raiders head coach Don Vaughan.
   116 - Points by seniors.
     55 - Goals by seniors (52% of scoring).
     52 - Votes in USCHO National Poll
     39 - Career multi-point games by A. Smith.
     39 - Goals against league opponents at home (+15).
     33 - Goals by A. Smith, most in a season since 1981.
     33 - Scores in the first period (+8 margin).
     28 - Goals scored by Colgate in the first or last two minutes of periods.
     22 - Players on the Raiders with at least one point.
     17 - Players on the team with at least one goal.
     17 - Career multi-goal games by A. Smith (9 in 2011-12).
     17 - Games allowing two or less goals (11-3-3).
     14 - Raiders that have multi-point games this year.
     14 - Wins when leading after two periods.
     14 - Games with four or more goals (13-1-0).
     11 - Shorthanded goals this season (6 by A. Smith).
     10 - Smith became the 10th player in Colgate history to reach 75 goals and 75 assists in a career.
       9 - Players with power play goals.
       9 - Skaters with at least 100 games played in career.
       7 - Conference wins at home (7-1-1)
       6 - Overtime games this season (2-1-3).
       5 - Wins over nationally-ranked teams.
       1 - Games left against current nationally-ranked teams.
       1 - Shutouts this season.

RAIDERS BACK IN THE RANKINGS
Colgate was able to jump back into the rankings this week and the Raiders sit at No. 20 in the USCHO National Poll. They are joined by ECAC Hockey members Union (#8) and Cornell (#11) as conference schools in the top-20. The Raiders spent two weeks outside the poll, but were still receiving votes.

TOP DUOS IN THE COUNTRY
Austin Smith and Chris Wagner continue to be one of the top one-two punches in the country. There are four other duos that match Smith and Wagner's output this season. Minnesota-Duluth's tandem of Jack Connolly and Travis Oleksuk are leading the way with 96 combined points, followed by Maine's Spencer Abbott and Brian Flynn at 95 points. Smith and Wagner are not far behind with 90 points between the two of them.

PLAYOFF SCENARIOS
Colgate is part of a wild final weekend as nine of the 12 ECAC Hockey teams have not claimed their spot for the upcoming playoffs. The top two have already been claimed, but the orders have yet to be determined as Union and Cornell fight for first place. Colgate's range goes from third to seventh, while Clarkson also clinched a home series and can go from third to eighth. After that, Harvard, Quinnipiac and St. Lawrence are a group that could finish from third to ninth. Yale can still get a first-round bye, while Dartmouth fights for a first-round home series. Princeton, Rensselaer and Brown will all travel in the first round.

SMITH REACHES 150-POINT MILESTONE
The senior forward became only the 10th player in Colgate history to reach 75 goals and 75 assists in a career. He was the 21st to get his 150th career points and is now 19th all-time in points after passing Dave Conte '71 with an assists against Clarkson. Smith became the fourth Colgate player in its history to reach 30 goals in a season after four against Rensselaer on Feb. 4. He was the first ECAC Hockey player since RPI's Brad Trapper netted 31 in 1999-2000. His four goals was the most by a Colgate player since Jon Smyth '06 in 2003. Smith has hit 41 or more points for the second time in his career and Colgate has had a 40-point scorer six of the last seven seasons.

LOOKING FOR POINT #50
Smith is just one point away from tallying his 50th point this season. He will become the first player since Andy McDonald '00 to reach 50 points in a season as the current St. Louis Blues forward had 58 in Colgate's NCAA-run in 1999-2000. McDonald had 25 goals and 33 assists for 58 points in 34 games played. Twelve of the 25 goals came on the power play. Smith is still eight points away from joining the top-10 all-time single-season points list.

HOME SWEET HOME
Starr Rink has been a refuge for the Raiders this season with a 9-3-2 overall record and a 7-1-1 mark in conference play, which makes home-ice in the playoffs very important. The offense has really come alive recently at home with 20 goals in the last four games in Hamilton. Overall, Colgate has scored 39 goals in conference games at home and have allowed just 24. The Raiders have scored 64 of their 104 goals on home ice.

WILSON EARNING HIS WAY ON TOP LINE
Joe Wilson has been on the first line all season and the last five weeks, he has really made an impact. He has tallied 11 points in his last 10 games, including eight in his last seven. He had a goal and two helpers against Cornell on Jan. 28 and then posted three assists in the 8-3 win over RPI. He scored his first shortie of his career in the win over Brown on Feb. 11, which gave Colgate its 100th goal of the season.

SCORING FIRST
In 17 of the 32 games played this season, Colgate has scored first, but last weekend the Raiders gave up the first goal twice and lost both. They are 11-5-1 when scoring first. The opening period has been a successful one for the Raiders in 2011-12 as they have 33 goals in the frame, but its their defense that makes it the best as they have allowed 25 scores for a plus-eight scoring margin. They have 37 goals in the third, but have given up 31 goals in the final frame. Colgate is 8-1-0 when scoring two or more goals in the first. Colgate lost for the first time on Friday night when giving up two first-period goals.

DON'T FORGET ABOUT ME
Chris Wagner has been just as consistent as Smith with 12 goals and 29 assists for 41 points, which is second in the league behind his linemate. He has doubled up his scoring from a season ago as he had 19 points. He continues to put up points as he factored in all three goals last weekend with two goals and an assist. He is fifth in the nation with 29 helpers and fifth in assists per game. Wagner is 13th in the country in points per game and is second in ECAC in assists. He has 19 points since the turn of the new year. Wagner and Smith are the first duo with 40 or more points for Colgate since Kyle Wilson '06 and Tyler Burton '08 in 2005-06.

SCOUTING THE ENGINEERS
Rensselaer comes to Hamilton for the last regular-season weekend with an 8-21-3 record and a 5-12-3 mark in conference play. The Engineers are coming off a sweep at the hands of Quinnipiac and Princeton, where they were outscored 9-3. They sit tied for 10th with two other teams and will be traveling in the first round of the playoffs, but they will not know where until the weekend ends. Rensselaer enters the weekend with one win in its last seven games.

The Engineers have not put up big numbers as they are 56th in the nation in scoring offense, averaging 1.75 goals per game. No player has more than six goals as CJ Lee, Ryan Haggerty and Zach Schroeder all have half-a-dozen amount of goals. Brock Higgs is the team leader in points with 18 and assists with 16. Nick Bailen has 17 points with five goals, four of which have come on the power play, and 12 helpers. Lee is third on the team in points with 13 on six goals and seven assists.

In goal, Bryce Merriam has started 25 games and has a 2.46 goals against average and a 7-16-2 record with three shutouts. He has allowed 59 goals on 645 shots for a .909 save percentage. Scott Diebold, who saw some action in the last meeting between these teams, has a 1-5-1 mark in seven starts with his lone win coming as a shutout.

SERIES HISTORY
Rensselaer and Colgate will be playing for the 117th 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. With Colgate's 8-3 win on Feb. 4, the series is tied at 56-56-3, however, since 2003-04 the Raiders hold a 19-6-1 advantage and is 9-1-1 at home.

SCOUTING THE DUTCHMEN
Union has been on a roll the second half of the season just one loss in its last since the start of 2012 and has moved up to eighth in the country in both national polls. The Dutchmen are 10-1-2 since the new year began, which includes last weekend's sweep of Princeton and Quinnipiac. Overall, Union has a 19-6-7 record and a 13-3-4 mark in conference play. The Dutchmen lead the nation in scoring margin as they are allowing just 1.75 goals per game and scoring 3.5 goals per game for plus-1.75 scoring margin.

The Dutchmen have racked up the points this season as six players have over 20 points, led by Kelly Zajac's 39 and Jeremy Welsh's 31. Zajac has a slight lead over Chris Wagner for the league lead in assists with 31. Welsh leads the team with 20 goals and power play goals with nine. Daniel Carr and Wayne Simpson are also threats on the power play with eight and seven goals, respectively. Simpson has 16 goals and 12 helpers for 28 points, while Carr has 13 goals and 15 assists for 28 points as well.

In goal, Troy Grosenick is back for the Dutchmen after missing the last matchup between these two schools with a lower-body injury. He leads the conference in all major goaltending categories and has a 15-4-3 record in 24 starts and has five shutouts. He has allowed just 35 goals on 604 shots for a .942 save percentage. His 1.52 goals against average is tops in the league and country. He has given up more than three goals just once this season and that was four against Yale on Nov. 12.

SERIES HISTORY
The Raiders and Union have matched up 58 times prior to this weekend and Colgate has had the advantage in the series with a 37-19-2 advantage since the first meeting back in 1928-29. The two schools have played just about even the last 15 games with Union holding a slim 8-6-1 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. This season, Union won the meeting back on Nov. 3 by a 3-1 score with two goals from Simpson and one from Welsh. The Dutchmen were one of three teams to keep Austin Smith off the scoresheet this year.