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HAMILTON, N.Y. (3/11/12) – Chris Wagner netted two goals and Eric Mihalik stopped 31 shots to lead the Colgate men's hockey team to a 4-0 victory over Quinnipiac to win the quarterfinal series and advance to Atlantic City next weekend.

The Raiders (19-15-3) also got two points from Austin Smith with a goal and an assist, while John Lidgett got his name in the scoring summary as well. Wagner posted three points on the night as he got an assist and finished the series with six points on five goals and one assist. He now joins Smith as 50-point scorers on the Raiders. Eric Mihalik earned his second career shutout and first in the playoffs with 31 stops, including a few that were highlight-reel saves.

The Bobcats (20-14-6) had its opportunities on the power play, but Colgate's penalty kill came up big as the visitors went 0-for-6 with the extra skater. Eric Hartzell made 27 saves in the loss, including 12 in the first and second period.

Colgate took an early lead with Wagner scoring his fourth goal of the series and 16th of the year with the score coming 4:37 into the first. Wagner rang the puck off the boards to Wilson behind the net and went to the slot and Wilson slipped a pass to him. Wagner was able to beat Hartzell for the only score of the first period.  Corbin McPherson was also given an assist on the play.

Quinnipiac did have a few quality scoring chances against the Raiders in the opening frame. Zack Currie picked up the puck at the defensive blueline after Smith lost an edge and broke in all alone against Mihalik. He tried to beat Mihalik with a backhand, but the Colgate netminder snuffed it out. On the same penalty kill, Yuri Bouharevich clanged one off the post, but the save of the year by Mihalik came later in the period. An initial Bobcat shot was blocked and the puck came right to Matthew Peca. He wound up to hit the open net as Mihalik was caught out of position. The sophomore dove across the crease and made an incredible save to keep Quinnipiac off the board.

The Raiders increased the lead to 2-0 with 11:05 left in the second period as Lidgett scored his fifth of the season. Robbie Bourdon got the puck in the offensive, going coast-to-coast and fired a shot that was blocked. Lidgett was there for the rebound and chipped the puck over the shoulder of Hartzell and into the top of the net. Kurtis Bartliff also assisted on the play.

Smith then put home his 36th goal of the season on a great feed from Wagner. The sophomore hit Smith will a two-line pass from the defensive end. The nation's leading goal scorer took a couple of strides into the zone and ripped a slapper from the faceoff circle and past Harzell for the 3-0 lead with 2:52 left in the second frame.

The Raiders continued to play great defense and killed off a 5-on-3 advantage to start the final period. Mihalik had his best period with 13 stops to preserve the shutout. Wagner added more insurance for Colgate with his second of the night coming as an empty netter as Quinnipiac pulled Hartzell with just less than five minutes left in the game. Smith was able to pick up a loose puck in the offensive zone and hit Wagner in stride at the offensive blueline and the sophomore hit the open net to close out the scoring at 4-0.

Each team put 31 shots on net. Colgate dominated the first two periods with a 27-18 shot advantage, but Quinnipiac outshot the Raiders 13-4 in the final frame. Colgate was scoreless on the power play with just two chances.

The Raiders move on to Atlantic City for the second-straight year and will play top-seeded Union in the semifinals on Friday.

NOTES: Wagner reached the 50-point milestone with his empty net goal … Smith has 36 goals on the season and is two away from tying Dan Fridgen '81 for the most in a single season … he is also two points away from equaling Andy McDonald's point total in 1999-2000 … Mihalik posted his second shutout of the season with the last coming at Dartmouth on Nov. 11 in a 4-0 win … he is the first netminder since Mark Dekanich '08 to post a playoff shutout, which was a 4-0 win over Quinnipiac in game three of the quarterfinals in 2006 … Wagner is riding a 10-game point streak and has 16 points in the 10 games … Smith came back and scored two points after being held scoreless last night … Colgate is 2-1 in game three's against Quinnipiac and both wins have been by 4-0 scores … Coach Vaughan has coached his team to the semifinals for the ninth time in his career.