OPENING FACE-OFF
Fri., Jan. 15 – at St. Lawrence 7 p.m. (Appleton Arena)
Sat., Jan. 16 – at Clarkson 7 p.m. (Cheel Arena)
Radio: WKXZ (94 FM – Oneonta, N.Y.) – John McGraw on the call
After enduring several lengthy lay-offs since Thanksgiving, 2009, Colgate returns to a more normal schedule and ECAC Hockey league play as it travels to the North Country for a pair of games against St. Lawrence and Clarkson. The Raiders, 7-8-4 overall, will be looking to snap a three-game losing streak Friday evening at Appleton Arena. Colgate fell to Niagara 5-1 in the consolation game of the 2010 Shillelagh Tournament in Hoffman Estates, Ill. January 3. The Raiders are 5-3-1 in league play and find themselves in fifth place in the current ECAC Hockey standings, just four points behind league leading Union. Five points separate the top six teams in the standings. The Raiders have four league games in hand of second placed Quinnipiac, which has 14 points in 13 ECAC games. Colgate will be looking for its first ECAC Hockey league victory to start a new year since a 3-1 win over Harvard on January 7, 2005. Since then, the Raiders are 0-3-1 in the first league game to start a new year.
MEET THE HEAD COACH
Don Vaughan is in his 17th year at the helm of the Colgate Raiders. The 1984 graduate of St. Lawrence enters the campaign as the program's all-time winningest coach with a 276-261-63 mark. On February 16, 2008, he became the all-time winningest coach with his 252nd victory as Colgate blanked Union 8-0. On November 11, 2007, former Colgate President, Rebecca S. Chopp, announced the creation of the Donald F. Vaughan Endowed Coaching Chair for Men's Hockey.
THESE DATES IN COLGATE HISTORY
The Raiders are very consistent in games played on January 5 and 6. Colgate has posted identical 9-5 records on these dates in particular. This will be the first time in the history of the program the Raiders will play on these dates on consecutive days. Starting with a 10-6 victory over Middlebury on January 15, 1943, Colgate was involved in seven consecutive games played on this date in which one team netted double figured goal totals, the last coming back in 1977 in a 10-2 loss to New Hampshire. The Raiders are 4-1 on this date since that loss to the Wildcats. Colgate has won five of its last seven on January 16, however dropped a 3-2 decision in overtime to Rensselaer at Houston Fieldhouse last year.
January 15, 2005 – Jon Smyth netted his 10th goal of the year at 11:26 of the first period and Steve Silverthorn made it stand up as then ninth-ranked Colgate blanked Union 1-0 in Schenectady. Silverthorn saved 21 shots including 10 in the final period to grab his seventh-career shutout.
January 16, 2004 –Kyle Doyle and Dmitry Yashin scored 25 seconds apart in the second period as Colgate downed visiting Rensselaer 3-1 in a penalty filled clash at Starr Rink. Steve Silverthorn turned aside 37 saves in the victory, including 15 in the second period. The game featured a combined 96 penalty minutes; one 10-minute misconduct and a melee at 19:43 of the third that saw two game misconducts and eight players receive double minors for roughing.
THE SERIES RECORDS
Colgate trails the all-time series to both St. Lawrence and Clarkson. Friday's meeting with the Saints will mark the 131st time the two schools have played with St. Lawrence leading 66-61-3. The Raiders have won five of the last eight meetings, but were swept by St. Lawrence last season.
When Clarkson and Colgate hook up on Saturday, it will mark the 137th contest between the two schools with the Golden Knights holding a commanding 81-41-14 lead in the series. The Raiders are 3-0-1 in their last four games versus Clarkson. Colgate hasn't suffered a regular-season defeat at Cheel Arena since a 6-0 loss on January 4, 2003. Since then, it is 2-0-4 versus the Golden Knights in Potsdam in regular-season tilts.
Colgate hasn't swept Clarkson and St. Lawrence on the road since the 1996-97 season in which it secured a 3-2 overtime victory over Clarkson and a 4-2 victory at St. Lawrence, January 3-4.
LAST TIME OUT
Colgate suffered a pair of defeats at the Shillelagh Tournament in Hoffman Estates, Ill. The Raiders dropped a 5-2 decision to tournament host, Notre Dame in the opening round meeting and then a 5-1 loss to Niagara in the consolation. Trailing 4-0 to the Fighting Irish, Colgate pulled to within two on back-to-back goals by David McIntyre and Francois Brisebois. Notre Dame scored an empty net goal with 30 seconds left to cement the victory. In the loss to the Purple Eagles, Brian Day scored an unassisted goal at 13:56 of the second to pull the Raiders to within 2-1, however Niagara regained the two-goal lead less than two minutes later. Both starting goalies finished with 36 saves.
ST. LAWRENCE IN BRIEF
The Saints head into the weekend sporting a 10-8-3 overall mark and stand in seventh place in the ECAC Hockey standings with nine points (4-3-1 record), two points behind Colgate. St. Lawrence split a two-game series with Niagara last weekend, winning 7-2 Friday evening before falling 4-3 the following night at the Dwyer Center in Niagara Falls. The Saints are 2-1-1 in 2010, among which includes a 5-2 victory over Boston College. St. Lawrence is 4-1-2 on its home ice this season – the lone loss coming to Union. The Saints employ a very balanced scoring attack with 11 players posting at least 10 points. Freshman Kyle Flanagan (5-13-18), senior Mike McKenzie (4-12-16), and senior Travis Vermeulen (7-8-15) are the top three point producers at this point of the season. Pete Child and Derek Keller are tied for second on the squad with six goals. St. Lawrence has used three goalies, but senior Kain Tisi (4-3-1, 2.34 gaa, .916 save %) has seen the most recent action.
LAST YEAR VERSUS THE SAINTS
Colgate dropped both meetings to Saint Lawrence. The Raiders fell 5-2 at Starr Rink in the final ECAC Hockey weekend prior to the Christmas break and then dropped a 4-2 decision to the Saints in Canton on January 31. Two of the four goals scored by the Raiders came off the stick of Brian Day. The junior tied the first contest at 1-1 with a power play goal at 16:24 of the first and gave Colgate its only lead over the Saints in the two games with the opening goal at Appleton – another power play score at 3:31 of the first period. David McIntyre and Nick St. Pierre scored the remaining two goals. Alex Evin started both games for Colgate. The sophomore posted 32 saves in the opening contest and 20 in the second meeting before being taken out in the third period. Matt Generous scored three of the Saints' nine goals, while Mike McKenzie and Casey Parenteau each scored twice.
RAIDER SCORING VERSUS THE SAINTS
Seven current Raiders have scored at least one point in their respective careers versus St. Lawrence. Leading the way with five points are Brian Day (3-2-5), David McIntyre (2-3-5), Jason Williams (2-3-5) and Kevin McNamara (1-4-5). Ethan Cox (2-1-3), Wade Poplawski (1-0-1), and Corbin McPherson (0-1-1) round out the scoring against St. Lawrence.
CLARKSON IN BRIEF
The Golden Knights head into the weekend sporting a 5-12-3 overall record and a 1-5-2 league mark. Clarkson is 2-10-3 in its last 15 games. Last weekend, it went 1-0-1 at home against Alabama-Huntsville, winning 3-1 Friday evening and then posting a 3-3 draw Saturday. The Golden Knights have seven skaters with 10 or more points, including two 20-plus point scorers in senior Matt Beca (11-10-21) and junior Scott Freeman (5-15-20). Louke Oakley and Mark Borowiecki are tied for second on the squad with six goals each. Clarkson has used two goalies thus far this season with Paul Karpowich getting most of the action. The sophomore is 4-8-3 on the year with a 3.40 goals against average and a .894 save percentage.
LAST YEAR VERSUS CLARKSON
Colgate went 1-0-1 against the Golden Knights during the 2008-09 campaign. Both teams battled to a 3-3 draw at Starr Rink on December 6 and then Colgate posted a 3-1 victory in Potsdam on January 30. Brian Day, Francois Brisebois, and David McIntyre each scored in the tie, while Day scored twice and Matt Firman notched his first collegiate goal in the victory at Cheel Arena. Charles Long posted 26 saves in each contest for the Raiders.
COLGATE SCORING VERSUS CLARKSON
Nine current Raiders have at least one point in their respective collegiate careers versus Clarkson. David McIntyre (5-3-8) leads the way for the Raiders, while Brian Day (3-4-7) is only one point behind. Rounding out the list of Colgate players with points versus the Golden Knights are Ethan Cox (2-2-4), Kevin McNamara (0-3-3), Jason Williams (1-1-2), Austin Smith (0-2-2), Francois Brisebois (1-0-1), Matt Firman (1-0-1) and Wade Poplawski (0-1-1).
WHO'S HOT
Brian Day and Austin Smith head into this weekend's play as the hottest Raiders, offensively speaking. Day, who has posted a point in four straight, has three goals and four assists during this recent stretch. To take it a step further, he has eight goals and seven assists in his last 10 games. He has scored at least a point in nine of those games. Like Day, Smith has seven points in his last four games. The sophomore's last nine points have come off assists.
HITTING 1,000
With his 16-save performance versus Notre Dame, Charles Long became the 17th goalie in Colgate history to reach 1,000 career saves. The senior tacked on 36 saves in the consolation game versus Niagara to give him 1,036 for his career.
POINT PER GAME SMITTY
Heading into this weekend, Austin Smith is averaging a point per game in his career. The sophomore has played in 56 games and has 25 goals and 31 assists thus far in his career. Smith has 13 multi-point games in his career, including two four-point performances to his credit – one versus Quinnipiac last year and a four-assist evening at Canisius on December 20, 2009.
LENDING A HELPING HAND
The Raiders have two players ranked nationally among the top 25 in assists. Austin Smith is tied for ninth overall, averaging 0.89 helpers per outing. His last nine points have come on assists. David McIntyre is tied for 24th nationally averaging 0.78 assists per game. Smith is tied for first in ECAC Hockey with Rensselaer's Brandon Pirri with 17 assists, while McIntyre is in a three-way tie for third with Scott Freeman (Clarkson) and Chase Polacek (Rensselaer).
HIGHEST TWO-GAME OUTPUT
Colgate scored 11 goals in its last two games before the Christmas break versus Rensselaer and Canisius. It was the highest two-goal output since the Raiders outscored Rensselaer and Union 12-0 at home February 15-16, 2008. It's the highest two-game scoring output away from Starr Rink since the 2003-04 season, December 12 and 28th when Colgate posted 11 goals at Sacred Heart and against Northeastern in the first round of the Rensselaer Holiday Tournament in Troy, N.Y.
FEELING THE POWER
In 12 of its last 14 games, Colgate has posted at least one power play goal. The Raiders had previously scored a power play goal in nine consecutive games until December 6 when the Union penalty kill held Colgate scoreless in two power play opportunities. In the following game, the Raiders unloaded for four power play goals in six man advantages in a 7-6 overtime loss at Canisius. Since opening 1 of 26 on the power play, Colgate has scored 16 times in its last 69 power play opportunities (.232).
PASSING THE CENTURY MARK
With his career-high four-point evening versus Harvard, David McIntyre became the 48th player in the program's history to surpass the 100-point milestone. He heads this weekend's play at St. Lawrence and Clarkson with 112 career points, which stands in a four-way tie for 34th on the all-time list with former standouts Robert Meehan, Jon Smyth, and Earl Cronin. He needs only one point to move into tie for with Tim Loftsgard and needs two more to more into a tie for 32nd with current Ottawa Senator Jesse Winchester, who amassed 114 points in his career.
STREAKING RAIDERS
The 2009-2010 season has seen the Raiders either continue old streaks or put together new ones.
Went into overtime in the season-opener at Niagara to continue streak dating back to last season of eight consecutive overtime appearances.
First three games were determined by a goal or less to increase the consecutive streak to 14 consecutive dating back to last season.
Had a six-game unbeaten streak from October 30-November 20 going 4-0-2.
Posted three goals or more in nine consecutive games from October 23-November 24.
Had a power play goal in nine-consecutive games from October 30-December 4
Had a streak of nine consecutive games in which at least one Raider posted a multi-point game from October 30-December 4.
NATIONALLY SPEAKING
As of January 11, Colgate had a strong presence in national statistical categories as six skaters were ranked among the top 50 in the country. They are as follows …
Austin Smith – T9 in assists per game (0.89), 16th in points per game (1.32); T15 in shorthanded goals (1),T30 in game winning goals (2)
Brian Day – 10th in goals per game (0.71), T17 power play goals (5), and 41st in points per game (1.12),
Thomas Larkin – T40 in points per game for a defenseman (0.62) and T28 in points per game for a rookie (0.62)
David McIntyre – T24 in assists per game (0.78) and T42 in points per game (1.11)
Francois Brisebois – T30 in game winning goals (2) and 50th in goals per game (0.47).
Jason Williams – T15 in shorthanded goals (1)
Robbie Bourdon – T34 for points per game by a rookie (0.59).
Charles Long – T35, winning percentage (.545).
THE PRICE IS RIGHT
Freshman Jeremy Price was one of four rookies nationally to gain honorable mention rookie of the month honors by the Hockey Commissioner's Association for the month of December. The defenseman tallied two goals in three games, both coming in an overtime loss to Canisius. He became the first defenseman to net two goals in the same game since Jason Fredricks on January 8, 2009 in a 5-4 overtime victory over Lake Superior State
TIED FOR THIRD
Defending national overtime champion and all-time single season record holder Colgate is tied for third this year with six overtime appearances. ECAC Hockey rival Union has appeared in 10 extra sessions this season while Miami ranks second with seven. The Raiders are knotted with Air Force, Alaska, Michigan State, Nebraska-Omaha, and Princeton.
FRESHMEN IMPACT
After 19 games, the Colgate freshmen have integrated themselves rather well as far as posting points. The freshman class is averaging nearly 2.05 points per game with a combined 39 points (13 goals, 26 assists) thus far. Earlier, there was a four-game stretch where a freshman collected his first collegiate goal of his career. Kurtis Bartliff netted his first goal in the 1-1 tie with nationally ranked Nebraska-Omaha, while Christian Long found the back of the next the following night against the Mavericks. Against UMass-Lowell, it was Robbie Bourdon's turn to light the lamp and then it was Jeremy Price opening the scoring versus Army. Bourdon (4-6-10) and Thomas Larkin (1-9-10) lead the class with points, while Bartliff (2-5-7) is only three points behind.
POWER PLAY HEATING UP
After starting the season, 1 of 26 on the power play, Colgate has scored on 15 of its last 58 attempts (.259) since the Army game. The Raiders have posted at least one power play goal in 11 of their last 12 games including cashing in on two of four opportunities against the then second-ranked penalty kill unit in the land – Cornell. It was the first time the Raiders had multi-power play goals in a single game since a 4-2 loss at St. Lawrence on January 30, 2009. Colgate got its second multi-power play game of the year with four at Canisius, December 20. Brian Day leads the squad with five power play goals, which is tied for 17th nationally.
53rd IS GOOD IN THIS INSTANCE
Usually, when talking about being ranked nationally, the lower number is better. In the case of penalty minutes, it's just the opposite. Colgate ranks 53rd nationally out of 58 schools in fewest penalty minutes per game (11.1 pmpg). Alaska still remains the least penalized team in the land averaging 8.6 penalty minutes per outing. In contrast, the University of Alaska-Anchorage is the most penalized team in the land (22.9 pmpg).
EVIN SAYS NO SOUP FOR MV-T
In Colgate's 3-1 loss at Union, Alex Evin stopped Mario Valery-Trabucco on a penalty shot in the second period. It was the first penalty shot against Colgate since March 19, 2004 when former Raider standout Steve Silverthorn stopped Clarkson's Chris Blight in an ECAC Hockey semifinal match-up. The opposition has only scored three times in nine tries against Colgate goalies – the last coming on January 4, 2003 as Randy Jones beat Silverthorn in a 6-0 Raider loss.
RPI OUTBURST
Colgate's five-goal outburst was the most goals scored by the Raiders against the Engineers since a 5-4 victory at Starr Rink back on February 18, 2000. The performance also served as the most goals scored by Colgate at Rensselaer in close to 15 years. The Raiders posted a 6-3 win at Houston Fieldhouse on January 16, 1995.
40 SOMETHING ON SATURDAYS
In back-to-back Saturday performances against Yale (11/14) and Princeton (11/21), Colgate goalies posted 40 or more saves. On November 14, Charles Long saved a career-high 41 shots in a 3-3 tie with the then 11th-ranked Bulldogs. The following Saturday, Alex Evin bested his former career-high of 41 set last season with a 43-save performance in a 5-4 overtime victory against the Tigers at Starr Rink, In the opening Saturday of league play, Long tallied 38 saves in a victory over Dartmouth (11/7).
DOUBLE BIG MAC
For the second time in three weeks, Colgate's David McIntyre was named as the ECAC Hockey Player of the Week on November 23. The senior posted two goals and three assists on the weekend versus Quinnipiac and Princeton. On November 9, he was honored with the recognition for the first time this season after tallying a five-point weekend in a sweep of Harvard and Dartmouth. In the opening game that weekend, McIntyre posted a career-high four-point outing (a goal and three assists) as Colgate overcame a 4-1 third-period deficit to down the Crimson 5-4. He scored a goal the following evening in a 3-2 win over Dartmouth. That same day, teammate Thomas Larkin was named the league's rookie of the week. He posted two points on the weekend, both coming versus Harvard (one goal, one assist). It was his first multi-point game of his career.
FIRST WEEKEND SWEEP IN A WHILE
When Colgate downed Harvard and Dartmouth to open its 2009-2010 ECAC Hockey slate, it was the first four-point weekend since February 15-16, 2008 when the Raiders blanked Rensselaer 4-0 and Union 8-0. Colgate's last non-conference weekend sweep was over Robert Morris on December 1-2, 2007.
HOLIDAY DRIVE A SUCCESS
Ethan Cox's canned food and toy drive from November 21st's clash with Princeton was a major success. The senior spearheaded a dual drive for the first time and raised over 1,000 pounds of food, 150 toys, and $650, which will go along way in providing holiday cheer to families in the greater Hamilton Area. The food items will help restock the supply at the Hamilton Food Cupboard, while the toys will be given to the Holiday Interfaith Council. Last year's drives raised 350 pounds of food, 200 toys and $1,007 in cash over two separate weekends.
A RECAP OF THE OVERTIME STREAK
Colgate entered the 2009-2010 campaign having played seven consecutive overtime games, which dated back to the end of 2008-09 season. The Raiders went 3-2-2 down the stretch in these games – the two losses coming to Quinnipiac in a best of three series in a first round ECAC Hockey Tournament clash in Hamden, Conn. The streak began at home with a 2-2 tie versus Union on February 20. Colgate would go on to beat Rensselaer (2-1); tie Brown 3-3 in Providence and then upset #11 Yale (3-2) in front of a national TV audience in New Haven all before the meetings with the Bobcats. Quinnipiac won the opener 3-2; then Colgate rallied from a two-goal deficit late in the game for a 5-4 victory to force a third game. The Bobcats prevailed 4-3 in the final game of the series. The Raiders stretched the streak to eight with a 4-4 tie at Niagara last Friday evening, but was broken the following night in a 3-2 regulation victory at RIT. It was Colgate's first regulation victory since a 1-0 defeat of Dartmouth on Valentines Day at Thompson Arena.
SHOULD OVERTIME HAPPEN
If it happens, eyes need to focus on two of Colgate's best ever goal scorers in overtime in David McIntyre and Austin Smith. McIntyre is tied for second all-time with three overtime game winners. He needs one more to tie Jon Smyth for first. One of McIntyre's goals lifted Colgate by Clarkson in the third and final game of an ECAC Hockey quarterfinal as the Raiders advanced to the Final Four as the seventh seed. Smith is tied for sixth having scored two overtime winners as a freshman last season versus Lake Superior State and Quinnipiac. McIntyre has six overtime points (3 goals, 3 assist) and five of them came last season. The only game he didn't record a point in a game winner in overtime was Colgate's 5-4 victory over Quinnipiac in the second game of the three-game series.
PRESEASON HONORS
David McIntyre has been named a pre-season first team all-ECAC Hockey honoree by the coaches and media. In addition, the senior has been named as a preseason first team all-American by Inside College Hockey and once again named to the all-College Hockey News first team. In 2008-09, McIntyre finished with 21 goals and 43 points, both ranked among the leaders nationally. His point total was the highest for a single season since Andy McDonald's 58 in 1999-2000. He was a first team all-league honoree; a finalist for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award, a first team AHCA/Reebok Eastern All-American, a first team all-American by Inside College Hockey and was a selection to the all-College Hockey News team. In addition, McIntyre is one of 20 candidates for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award for men's ice hockey.
GETTING DRAFTY
Colgate has six NHL draft picks on its 2009-2010 roster. David McIntyre was drafted in the fifth round of the 2006 Draft by the Dallas Stars. Last year, his rights were traded twice in two months and now stands property of the New Jersey Devils. Corbin McPherson (New Jersey, 3rd, 2007), Brian Day (New York Islanders, 6th, 2006), Austin Smith (Dallas Stars, 5th, 2007), Jeremy Price (Vancouver Canucks, 4th, 2009), and Thomas Larkin (Columbus Blue Jackets, 5th, 2009) round out the Raiders' draft picks.
BLUELINE SHUFFLE
Colgate will have a revamped defense for the 2009-2010 season. Don Vaughan's squad lost five defensemen to graduation that combined to play close to 600 collegiate games. With the return of Corbin McPherson, Wade Poplawski and Kevin McNamara, the Raiders have 132 games of collegiate experience. Newcomers will need to make an impact on the blueline this season.
OH BROTHER
Charles and Christian Long are the first set of brothers to play for Don Vaughan at the same time. They hail from Cleveland Heights, Ohio and played junior hockey for the Brockville Braves of the CJHL. Charles and Christian have played three years together at different levels including helping St. Edwards High School to an Ohio State High School title.
