Team Notes: Colgate Begins 83rd Season on Cape Cod

HAMILTON, N.Y. – In the history of the Colgate men’s hockey program, which traces its beginnings back to 1915, the Raiders have never opened a season on Cape Cod and they will get their chance against Army on Saturday night. 

The game will take place at the Hyannis Community Center Rink at 7 p.m. on Saturday. Live stats and audio will be available for all fans, but live video will not. Fans can visit the new Men’s Hockey Game Central to access all live content and game notes each week. 

ANOTHER SEASON OF RAIDER HOCKEY
Colgate begins its 83rd season on the ice and is poised for another run after placing fourth in ECAC Hockey a season ago and earning a first round bye in the conference tournament. The Raiders finished with a 15-15-6 overall record and a 12-8-2 mark in ECAC Hockey play after being selected to finish in the bottom half of the league. This will be the 50th season of ECAC Hockey and the Raiders have played in one of the oldest conferences in the country for each of its 50 years in existence. 

FOURTH IN MEDIA PRESEASON POLL
The Colgate men’s hockey team was selected to finish four by ECAC Hockey media. The Raiders earned 263 points in the poll and also garnered two first-place votes, which was the same as Cornell. Yale was the huge favorite to win the league earning 25 of 30 first-place votes. The Big Red was picked second with 288 points and two first-place votes, while Union was chosen third with 276 points and a first-place votes. Rensselaer rounded out the top-5 with 211 points. 

FIFTH COACHES’ PRESEASON POLL
The ECAC Hockey Coaches’ saw the Raiders differently as they picked Colgate to finish fifth, instead of the fourth selection by the media. Yale was once again the choice to repeat as league champions with a total of 121 points and 11 of the 12 first-place votes. Cornell was given the other first-place vote and finished second with 92 points. Union was taken third, followed by Rensselaer with 79 points as the Engineers jumped the Raiders in the coaches’ poll. Colgate was given 69 points to round out the top-5. 

PRESEASON ALL-LEAGUE FOR SMITH
Junior Austin Smith (Dallas, Texas) was one of six ECAC Hockey skaters to be named to the Preseason All-League Team. Smith skated in all 36 games for the Colgate men’s hockey team last season and recorded a team-high 41 points on 16 goals and 25 assists. He posted 13 multi-point games and had four games with two or more goals. In his two years with the Raiders, he has seen ice time in all 73 games and has tallied 72 points on 33 goals and 39 assists. He is the second-consecutive Raider to be named as David McIntyre was selected in 2009-10.

WELCOME BACK SCORERS
The Raiders return four of their top five scorers to a unit that was ranked third overall in scoring offense in ECAC Hockey and 13th nationally. Colgate averaged 3.28 goals per game and netted a total of 118 goals. 

STARTING A NEW DAY
Senior Brian Day returns to the lineup wearing the “C” as he was named team captain. He was the team leader in goals in 2009-10 with 21 scores, which put him tied for fifth in the conference. He was tops in conference play as well with 13 goals in 20 games. Day’s seven goals with the extra skater was also a team-high. Joining Day as assistant captains are seniors Francois Brisebois (Montreal, Que.), Wade Poplawski (Winnipeg, Man.) and Kevin McNamara (Chestnut Hill, Mass.). 

SEASON OPENERS UNDER VAUGHAN
Colgate enters another season under head coach Don Vaughan, who begins his 18th season behind the bench. In season openers, he is 6-7-4 against some quality opponents. In 1997-98, the Raiders opened the season against Michigan and beat the eventual national champion by a 2-1 score at Ann Arbor. Colgate began a year under Vaughan against either a Hockey East or CCHA school until 2001 when it faced Nebraska-Omaha in the opener. 

FIRST DIVISION I GAME ON THE CAPE
It’s believed that this is the first regular season NCAA Division I hockey game to be played on Cape Cod. The Massachusetts vacation destination is known for its clam chowder and beautiful beaches and not a cold ice hockey rink in October. For four Colgate players it will be like playing at home. Senior Kevin McNamara and his brother, rookie Jack McNamara are from Chestnut Hill, Mass., while senior captain Brian Day is from Danvers and rookie Chris Wagner is a native of Walpole. 

RAIDERS DRAFT PICKS
The Raiders have seven players on this year’s squad that have been taken in the NHL Draft, including two rookies. Day leads the group as he was a sixth round pick by the Islanders in 2006. Junior Corbin McPherson was taken in the third round in 2007 by the New Jersey Devils, while Smith was a fifth round pick in that same draft by his hometown Dallas Stars. Sophomore Thomas Larkin (Cocquio Trevisago, Italy) was selected in 2009 by the Blue Jackets in the fifth round. The two rookies are Wagner andAnthony Hamburg (Phoenix, Ariz.). Wagner was a fifth round selection in last year’s draft by the Anaheim Ducks, while Hamburg was taken in the seventh round by the Minnesota Wild in 2009. 

SCOUTING THE BLACK KNIGHTS
Army is coming off an 11-18-7 season in 2009-10 and a 10-12-6 mark in Atlantic Hockey play. The Black Knights ended the season with a playoff sweep at the hands of Air Force. They were selected to finish ninth in Altantic Hockey, which has expanded to 12 teams after gaining two teams from College Hockey America. Niagara and Mercyhurst are the two schools that have joined the conference. 

Army is returning 24 letterwinners from a season ago. Senior Cody Omilusik comes back as one of the two team captains and the leading scorer with 34 points on 18 goals and 16 assists. Junior Mike Hull passed out a team-high 20 helpers and eight goals for 28 points for second on the team. Other returners up front are Danny Colvin and Kyle Maggard, who each registered 18 points on six goals and 12 assists. On the blueline, senior captain Pat Copeland anchors the defense. Junior Marcel Alvarez was the top scorer for the backline with six goals and 14 assists for 20 points. Sophomore John Clark earned seven assists for the 
Black Knights in his first season in an Army uniform. 

In net, Jay Clark will be the starter to begin the season after posting an 11-16-5 mark a season ago. He posted a 3.00 goals against average and .937 save percentage. Sophomore Ryan Leets and rookie Anthony Cadieux will compete for the backup roll behind Clark. 

SERIES HISTORY
Colgate leads the series with a 36-16-5 advantage, which is the second-longest rivalry for the Raiders. The matchup began in 1916 with Colgate earning a 5-2 win over Army. The only other game that has lasted longer is the Raiders and Rensselaer, which began a year earlier in 1915. It was the only game of the season that was recorded in 1915. This is the 58th meeting between these two schools. They have only played two neutral site games prior to this weekend. They played both of those games in Syracuse, N.Y., in 1935 and 1991.