MEN'S HOCKEY GAME CENTRAL

HAMILTON, N.Y. (12/9/10) – After a shutout win last Saturday, the Colgate men's hockey team will look to build on the Army game as Niagara comes to Starr Rink at 7 p.m. on Saturday night.

The game will have live video, audio and stats with all the links available at Men's Hockey Game Central on the men's hockey page at gocolgateraiders.com.

RAIDERS SNAP SKID BY BLANKING ARMY
Junior Alex Evin made 24 stops for his second career shutout to give the Colgate men's hockey team a much needed 3-0 win over Army to snap an eight-game winless streak. Colgate got three goals from three different skaters. Juniors Corbin McPherson, Nick Prockow and Austin Smith added the goals, while sophomore Robbie Bourdon increased his point streak to seven games with an assist in the first period.

TOY DRIVE AT STARR ON SATURDAY
The Raiders will be collecting toys for the Interfaith Holiday Council on Dec. 11 during the Niagara game, which the items will then be dispersed to the families within Madison County. Fans will again receive a free general admission ticket for every unwrapped toy donated.

EVIN'S SECOND SHUTOUT
Evin came into this year without a shutout in his previous two seasons. He went 39 starts until he earned his first against Sacred Heart. But it only took seven games between the two shutouts after posting 24 stops at Army on Dec. 4.

SHUFFLE UP AND DEAL
The Raiders have yet to find a consistent lineup this season. Overall the team has used 23 different line combinations in the four lines allowed. The three that have seen the most ice time together has been juniors Matt Firman and Prockow and centered by senior Austin Mayer. The three have played 10 games together and are 3-6-1 with 11 points on five goals and six assists. Prockow leads the way with three scores and two helpers for five points.

BACK ON TRACK IN THE THIRD PERIOD
After a tough defeat at the hands of the Big Red where Colgate gave up three third periods goals, the Raiders answered with a great effort to hold off Army in the final frame on Saturday. Evin pushed aside 11 shots and came up big during two power plays in the last 20 minutes. The Raiders took a 1-0 lead into the period and extended it to 3-0 on goals by Prockow and Smith.

BREAK FROM LEAGUE OPPONENTS
Colgate will be technically playing in its fourth-straight non-conference game, since Saturday's loss to Cornell was considered a non-league game. Colgate holds a 3-4-0 record games away from ECAC Hockey. The Raiders have outscored its opponents in those games by a tight 20-16 advantage.

MAYER SCORES FIRST IN COLGATE UNIFORM
Mayer scored his first Colgate goal in the loss to Cornell on Nov. 27. Mayer is playing in his first season for the Raiders after spending a pair of years at Providence College of Hockey East. He posted four goals and nine assists with the Friars and played in 46 games. His first point came back on Oct. 30 against Sacred Heart in a 5-0 win.

DAY NETS 50TH CAREER GOAL AND LOOKING FOR CAREER MILESTONE
The senior forward became the 33rd skater in Colgate history to record his 50th career goal, which came on Nov. 23 at Niagara. Day scored on the power play in the third period. He has 51 goals and 45 assists for 96 points and is four points away from reaching the 100-point plateau. He will be the 48th skater to obtain the milestone. He added to his goal total with the first score against Cornell on Nov. 27. He is currently riding the team's second-longest point streak of the season with at least one point in the last four games.

A STREAKING BOURDON
Bourdon is currently on the longest point streak for the Raiders this season and his career as he has scored at least one point in the last seven games. He had two points against Niagara on Nov. 23 with a goal and an assist, while adding a helper against Cornell and Army. With the streak, the sophomore is now 16th in the league in points with 12 on the year.

SHOWING NO FAVORITES
Bourdon scored his first goal of the 2010-11 season in the second game at LSSU with a power play goal coming in the third period. He has now scored 13 goals in 13 different games in his career. He has the most against Brown and Yale with three goals apiece against the Bears and Bulldogs for six of his 13 goals. He is still searching for his first career multi-goal game.

PRICE IS RIGHT
Sophomore Jeremy Price, along with McPherson has been a consistent blueliner on the stat sheet with six points this season. He has at least one point in five of his last eightgames. Price had back-to-back games with points against St. Lawrence and Princeton with a goal against the Saints and an assist in the visit by the Tigers. He posted two points in the weekend against Brown and fifth-ranked Yale. He tallied his fifth helper of the season against Cornell, which is just three behind his assist output a season ago.

POWER PLAY SNAPS SCORELESS STREAK
The Raiders came into the Nov. 20 game against Yale, scoreless in its last 22 opportunities on the power play. They got two goals in that game and since the drought, Colgate is 5-of-21 on the power play in the last four games for a 23.8 success rate. The Raiders have gotten 24 shots on goal during power plays, which is equal to their opponents.

SCOUTING THE RAIDERS
Colgate will be facing off against Niagara for the second time this season. The Purple Knights won the first matchup on Nov. 23 by a 4-2 margin at Dwyer Arena. The Raiders are averaging 2.77 goals a game, which is eighth in ECAC. Colgate jumped up to 11th in the league in scoring defense, allowing 3.23 goals per game after shutting out the Black Knights.

The Raiders have 19 different skaters with at least one point with 11 earning five or more points. Bourdon has been a main scoring threat recently with three goals in his last five games and is riding a seven-game point streak. He has eight points in those seven games. Day has scored in four-straight games and his seven tallies lead the team. Smith has seven assists to lead the team with senior Francois Brisebois and Bourdon. Smith has three points in his last four games. McPherson scored his third goal of the season against Army and is the top scoring defensemen on the team with seven points.

In net, Evin has started 10-of-12 games for the Raiders and has a 3-7-1 mark. He added his second career shutout on Saturday against Army with 24 saves and has recorded an .902 save percentage and a goals against average of 2.73. Rookie Eric Mihalik got his second start against Yale on Nov. 20 with a 6-4 loss. He is 0-2-0 on the season and has a save percentage of .852 and a goals against average of 4.59.

On special teams, the power play is slowly getting back on track with five goals in the last four games. The Raiders are 10-for-73 on the man advantage for a 13.7 success rate. The penalty kill has seen some improvement allowing just one game in the last 14 opportunities for Colgate's opponents. The Raiders held Niagara scoreless on the power play in the first meeting and kept Army off the board in five chances for the Black Knights.

SCOUTING THE PURPLE EAGLES
Niagara enters the weekend with a 9-6-2 overall record and a 7-4-0 mark in Atlantic Hockey. The Purple Eagles are coming off a weekend split with Connecticut, taking the first game with an overtime 4-3 win, but dropped the next game by an 8-5 score. They handled the Raiders earlier in the season with a 4-2 win on Nov. 23 with two third period goals.

Niagara is led by Paul Zanette with 22 points on 15 goals and seven assists. His 15 scores are tied with Matt Frattin of North Dakota as the two are both leading the nation in goals. He posted two scores in the last meeting between these two schools. He was named the Atlantic Hockey Player of the Month for November, notching 10 goals and 14 points. Giancarlo Iuorio leads the team with 14 assists and has added seven goals for a total of 22 points. Four of his seven goals have come on the power play, which is second behind Zanette, who has five with the man advantage. Rookie Scott Arnold has joined the team and has fit in with 11 goals, including a pair of power play goals and two shorthanded goals to his credit.

In net, the Purple Eagles have given each goaltender a chance to play as no netminder has yet to see action in a total of 10 games. Careen Chubak has started seven games and has a 4-3-1 mark and a 2.80 goals against average. He has given up 21 goals this year on 208 shots for a save percentage of .899. Chris Noonan has started six games and has a 3-2-1 record with a .893 save percentage and GAA of 3.08. Andrew Hare has played in six games with four starts and has posted a 2-1-0 mark with a 4.09 GAA and a .858 save percentage.

On the power play, Niagara is ranked 14th in the nation and is fourth in Atlantic Hockey. The Purple Eagles have 19 goals in 87 chances for a 21.8 percent success rate. Their 19 scores is fourth most in the nation on the man advantage. They are also seeing success on the penalty kill as Niagara is 13th in the nation, giving up 11 goals in 80 opportunities for its opponents for an 86.2 percent success rate.

SERIES HISTORY
Colgate and Niagara will be playing for the 14th time since the first meeting back in 1997-98. The Purple Eagles lead the series with a 6-5-2 record after winning on Nov. 23. The teams have played seven neutral site games in the series and will be competing at Starr Rink for the fifth time. The two schools started the series with four-straight games at the Syracuse Invitational Tournament.