Team Notes: Colgate Faces Army for Second Time

HAMILTON, N.Y. – The Colgate men’s hockey team will look to halt its recent losing skid as the Raiders travel to Army for a 7 p.m. faceoff on Saturday night at Tate Rink. 

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RAIDERS FALL TO CORNELL AT PRUCENTER
Colgate took a two-goal lead into the final period at Prudential Center, but Cornell responded with three goals in the first 10 minutes of the frame to take a 4-3 win on Saturday. The Raiders built a 2-0 lead on goals by senior captain Brian Day (Danvers, Mass.) and senior Austin Mayer (Providence, R.I.). Rookie Chris Wagner (Walpole, Mass.) netted his third of the season after the Big Red got on the board to make it 3-1 going into the third. It was the fifth time this season Colgate had given up three goals in a period. 

SCOUTING THE RAIDERS
Colgate will be facing off against Army for the second time this season. The Raiders won its season opener on Cape Cod on Oct. 9 against the Black Knights by a 3-1 margin. They are looking for its first win since beating Sacred Heart as they are on an eight-game winless streak. The Raiders are averaging 2.75 goals a game, which is seventh in ECAC. After giving up 18 goals the last four games, Colgate is tied for last in the league with Brown as the Raiders are giving up 3.5 scores a game.

The Raiders have 19 different skaters with at least one point with nine earning five or more points. Sophomore Robbie Bourdon (Montreal, Que.) has been a main scoring threat recently with three goals in his last four games and is riding a six-game point streak. He has seven points in those six games. Day has scored in three-straight games and has seven tallies to lead the team. Junior Austin Smith (Dallas, Texas) has seven assists to lead the team with senior Francois Brisebois (Montreal, Que.). Smith has three points in his last three games. Junior Corbin McPherson (Folsom, Calif.) and rookie Mike McCann (Barrington, Ill.) have contributed six points as McCann leads all freshmen.

In net, junior Alex Evin (Castlegar, B.C.) has started 9-of-11 games for the Raiders and has a 2-7-1 mark. He posted his first collegiate shutout against Sacred Heart on Oct. 30 and has recorded an .893 save percentage and a goals against average of 3.01. Rookie Eric Mihalik (Avon Lake, Ohio) 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 four goals in the last three games. The Raiders are 9-for-68 on the man advantage for a 13.2 success rate. The penalty kill came around against Niagara last week, holding the Purple Knights scoreless in four chances, but the Cornell game-winner came on the power play, so the penalty kill is slowly improving.

THIRD PERIOD TROUBLES
The Raiders were unbeaten this season when taking a lead into the final period of play until Saturday’s loss to Cornell at the Prudential Center. The Big Red erased a 3-1 Colgate lead in the final frame with three goals, including the game-winner on the power play. It was the fifth time this season the Raiders have given up three goals in a period. 

BREAK FROM LEAGUE OPPONENTS
Colgate will be technically playing in its third-straight non-conference game, since Saturday’s loss to Cornell was considered a non-league game. Colgate holds a 2-4-0 record games away from ECAC Hockey. The Raiders have outscored its opponents in those games by a tight 17-16 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 assist with the Friars and played in 46 games. He has appeared in all 12 games for the Raiders and has a goal and two assists. His first point came back on Oct. 30 against Sacred Heart in a 5-0 win. 

DAY NETS 50TH CAREER GOAL
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 44 assists for 95 points and is five 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 last Saturday. 

A STREAKING BOURDON
Bourdon is currently on the longest point streak for the Raiders this season as he has scored at least one point in the last six games. He had two points against Niagara with a goal and an assist, while adding a helper in the loss to Cornell. With the streak, the sophomore has moved up to 15th in the league in points with 11 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 (Milton, Ont.) has been the most consistent blueliner on the stat sheet with six points this season. He has at least one point in five of his last seven games. 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 Colgate power play has recently seen better days as the Raiders came into Saturday’s game against Yale, scoreless in its last 22 opportunities. However, Colgate has fired back with four goals in its last 13 opportunities for a 30.8 success rate in its last two games. The Raiders have tallied two power play goals in their last two contests. 

MCDONALD ’00 NAMED TO ECAC TOP 50 PLAYERS
Former Colgate standout and Hobey Baker Finalist Andy McDonald ’00 was selected as one of ECAC Hockey’s top 50 players as the league announced its second group of five skaters. McDonald finished his career with 67 goals and 88 assists for 155 points in 137 collegiate games. He was named ECAC Hockey Player of the Year back in 2000. He has played for two NHL franchises and has appeared in 584 games. He won the 2007 Stanley Cup with Anaheim and just scored his 150th career NHL goal with St. Louis on Nov. 19 against Jesse Winchester ’08 and the Ottawa Senators. 

PEPPERING THE GOALTENDER
Colgate had target practice against Sacred Heart on Oct. 30 with 55 shots on net, which was the highest since the Raiders posted 70 in 2003 at Dartmouth. They had 22 shots alone in the first period, which tied a season-high. The other time they posted 22 shots was in the season opener against Army in the second period. The Raiders have outshot their opponent in 9-of-12 games this season, including both wins. They have reached 30 or more shots in 10 games this year and are 2-7-1, including 0-7-1 when posting between 31-40 shots. The opponents have recorded 30 or more shots twice this season and Colgate is 0-2-0 in those games.

SCOUTING THE BLACK KNIGHTS
Army enters Saturday’s contest with a 4-7-1 record and a 3-6-1 mark in Atlantic Hockey play. The Black Knights split with Niagara last weekend with both teams earning 4-1 wins at Tate Rink. The big win of the year for Army came at UMass with a 5-2 win at the Mullins Center, while other wins have come against Canisius and a 9-3 drubbing of American International. 

Junior Danny Colvin leads the charge for the Black Knights with 13 points on five goals and eight assists. Twelve of his 13 points have come in conference play. Senior Cody Omilusik is right behind Colvin with 12 points on a team-high six goals, while adding six helpers. He too has had a good conference year with 11 of his 12 points have come in league. Omilusik also leads the team in power play goals with three on the season. He has played in 118 games in his career and has 89 points. Sophomore Andy Starczewski and junior Marcel Alvarez each have eight points on the year with Starczewski posting four goals and four assists and Alvarez scoring two goals and handing out six helpers. 

In net, senior Jay Clark has started 10-of-12 games between the pipes with a 2-7-1 record and a 3.36 goals against average. His save percentage sits at .898. Sophomore Ryan Leets has earned two starts this year and is 2-0-0 after beating Niagara last weekend. He has a 1.51 goals against average and a save percentage of .955.

Army has a consistent power play with 11 goals in 61 opportunities for an 18 percent success rate. The kill has been a strong point of the team, allowing five goals in 51 chances for opponents. 

SERIES HISTORY
Army and Colgate will be playing for the second time this season and the 59th time. The Raiders hold a 37-16-5 advantage in the series after a 3-1 win earlier this year on Cape Cod. The matchup began in 1916 with Colgate earning a 5-2 win over Army. The series is the second oldest rivalry for the Raiders. The only other series that has lasted longer is Rensselaer, which began a year earlier in 1915. It was the only game recorded in 1915.