- FULL INTERVIEW OF DON VAUGHAN WITH JOHN MCGRAW

HAMILTON – Another offseason has come and gone for the Colgate men's ice hockey team after wrapping up the first full year in the Class of 1965 Arena. Head coach Don Vaughan, entering his 25^th year at the helm of the Raiders' men's ice hockey program, and the staff has been preparing the new, young squad for the first game of the season.
 
The Raiders have some motivation after the ending of last season, where the Raiders were one second away from advancing to the ECAC Hockey Quarterfinals before giving up the game-tying goal in regulation to the Princeton Tigers.
 
"You can learn from moments like that," Vaughan said. "It's certainly not something you want to dwell on but the message is, 'One second can make all the difference in the world, you can't take a shift off.' I'm not saying we took that shift off, we certainly have to give Princeton credit to execute and find a way to score the goal, but that's something that sat with us all summer."
 
That was a tough moment to end the 2016-17 season, but with nine freshmen on that team seeing playing time and now sophomores in 2017-18, the Raiders are looking to build upon it for an exciting new chapter in Colgate hockey.
 
"It was a baptism by fire for a lot of those guys, they had to play in all situations and you expect that experience, and the value that comes from that, to really help them this year," Vaughan said. "You can already see it, there's just a certain comfort level, they know the systems so they're able to concentrate and focus on other parts of their game."
 
Players like Bobby McMann (Wainwright, Alberta), Jared Cockrell (Readfield, Maine) and John Snodgrass (Eagan, Minnesota), just to name a few, were among the team leaders in scoring last season with McMann leading the freshman class with 19 points and 14 assists while Cockrell led the freshman in goals with six.
 
That group is looking to a step to the next level, but the Raiders have been aided by their new co-captains for the upcoming season, Evan Peterson (Lakeville, Minnesota) and Mike Panowyk (Whitby, Ontario). Before even being named captains of the team, they took it upon themselves early on to start setting the tone for 2017-18.
 
"They've been tremendous, it started in the spring with an exit interview with both them anticipating that's how it would go," Vaughan said. "They took that role on over the summer and started to set the table in terms of how we want to play and the attitude we want to have."
 
The Raiders are looking to return to their fast play of the past, which Vaughan says starts with one of their strengths: the defense.
 
"We think our defense is solid, we've had some really nice surprises there both in the freshman class with [Nick] Austin and [Trevor] Cosgrove. We've seen other guys take a step which is what we expect especially between freshman and sophomore year."
 
Nick Austin and Trevor Cosgrove join a returning group of defenseman from last season including Paul Meyer (Edina, Minnesota), Willie Brooks (Locust, New Jersey) and Ken Citron (Cos Cob, Connecticut) and Jacob Panetta (Belleville, Ontario).
 
The Raiders graduated some valuable players like Jake Kulevich and Brett Corkey defensively, Charlie Finn in goal and Tim Harrison on the offensive side of the ice but the freshman coming in have blended well with the returning upperclassmen to bring some excitement to the ice this season.
 
"The younger guys seem to have all acclimated well," Vaughan said. "The returning guys have done a great job of pulling the younger guys in, which we needed them to do. With eight new freshman, and they're all going to see some time early on, it was important that they understand what we're trying to do here and grasp the energy that you have to play with at this level."
 
Colgate kicks off the 2017-18 season Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. when they face the Niagara Purple Eagles at Class of 1965 Arena. One of Niagara's new assistant coaches will face his former bench boss, as Matt Nicholson '04 makes his second return to Colgate as an assistant coach after making a trip with Robert Morris during the 2009-10 season.
 
Prior to puck drop, Colgate athletics is hosting a pregame tailgate in the parking lot of 1965 Arena. There will be live music and food trucks, among other activities to get fans ready for the 2017-18 season. For more information, CLICK HERE.