HAMILTON – Coming off a big 6-1 win over Cornell last Saturday, the Raiders’ schedule doesn’t get any easier with Rensselaer and third-ranked Union this weekend at home.
Both games will be live on the Patriot League Network. Fans can also listen live onwkxzfm.com or view live stats on gocolgateraiders.com
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THIS WEEK: ANOTHER HOME WEEKEND ON TAP
Colgate will continue its short three-game home stand with Rensselaer and No. 3 Union making the trip from the Capital District. The Engineers have had an up-and-down year at 12-12-4 and is coming off a weekend split with a win against Brown and a loss to Yale. The Dutchmen are 19-6-3 overall and ranked third in the nation and is 7-2-0 in their last nine games with a pair of 2-1 losses to RPI and St. Lawrence. They swept Yale and Brown last weekend.
NEXT UP: REGULAR SEASON ROAD FINALE
Colgate will continue its short three-game home stand with Rensselaer and No. 3 Union making the trip from the Capital District. The Engineers have had an up-and-down year at 12-12-4 and is coming off a weekend split with a win against Brown and a loss to Yale. The Dutchmen are 19-6-3 overall and ranked third in the nation and is 7-2-0 in their last nine games with a pair of 2-1 losses to RPI and St. Lawrence. They swept Yale and Brown last weekend.
BACK IN THE RANKINGS
After spending a week outside the top-20, the Raiders are back in the polls at No. 19 with the win over Cornell. Colgate is one of six ECAC Hockey teams in the rankings. The Raiders are also high in the PairWise rankings, which helps determine the field for the NCAA Tournament. Colgate sits at No. 15 in those rankings.
THE CAPTAIN STEPS UP
Spiro Goulakos had his best night as a Raider on Saturday against Cornell with four points. He tallied the second hat trick of the season for the Raiders and scored all three in the third period in a 6-1 win. Two of the three were power play goals and his five scores on the power play are second on the team. He was named ECAC Hockey Player of the Week. He is currently riding a four-game point streak with eight points in the four games. He was the first defenseman in the country to record a hat trick this season.
SENIOR SKATER HAS A DAY
Senior Mike McCann had his first career two-goal game in the win over Cornell last Saturday. He scored the first goal of the game in the opening period. The forward has a career high seven goals this season and 10 points. He has scored in six different games and when he does score, Colgate is unbeaten at 5-0-1 with the lone tie coming at Bowling Green where he scored the only goal for the Raiders in the game.
SECOND HALF SUCCESS
The Raiders have enjoyed success in the second half of the season with a 7-2-1 record to get them in the top-20 in the country. It has not come easy with many games against ranked opponents. However, this team is 4-1-1 against top-20 teams in 2014. Colgate has scored 15 goals in the four wins.
FANTASTIC FINAL FRAMES
The third period has been kind for the Raiders all season long as they have scored 34 of its 80 goals in the final frame. Colgate scored four of the six goals in the third period against Cornell. The Raiders have scored three or more goals in the final period, four times this season, more than any other period.
SCOUTING THE ENGINEERS
Rensselaer enters the weekend with a 12-12-4 overall record and a 6-7-3 conference mark. The Engineers have won four of their last six games after a four-game losing streak to start 2014. RPI joined the Raiders at the Mariucci Classic and dropped 6-2 games to Minnesota and Ferris State. They are coming off a weekend split against Yale and Brown. They defeated Brown, 4-1, on Saturday. Rensselaer can score goals as the Engineers average over three goals a game. They have struggled on the penalty kill in conference, allowing 17 goals on 72 chances.
Ryan Haggerty has been one of the best goal scorers in the conference with 22 goals and 13 assists for 35 points. He has 21 points in league play, including 12 goals. He has eight power play goals and five of his 22 goals have been gamewinners. Brock Higgs has enjoyed success with 27 points on 13 goals and 14 assists. Matt Neal and Jacob Laliberte have 22 points each, while Mike Zalewski has recorded 20 points on eight goals and 12 helpers. Laliberte leads the team with 18 assists.
In goal, Scott Diebold has started 26 games and has an 11-11-4 record. He has played over 1500 minutes and has a 2.53 goals against average and a .911 save percentage. The junior netminder has an overall career record of 15-20-6 in 44 games played.
SERIES HISTORY
Rensselaer and Colgate will be playing for the 120th time on Friday night since 1915-16 and this series is the oldest in Raiders hockey history. Colgate has played more games against Clarkson and Cornell, but those two series began in 1927. Colgate’s first ever game was against the Engineers in 1915-16 with the Raiders winning 6-1. It was the only game of the season. Rensselaer has jumped up in the series as the Engineers have won the last four meetings, including a 6-2 win on Nov. 9 at Houston Field House.
SCOUTING THE DUTCHMEN
Union, like Colgate, has enjoyed a good start to 2014 with a 7-3-0 record in the new year. Overall the Dutchmen are 17-6-3 and are ranked third in the nation. They lead the conference with a 13-3-0 record, which gives them 26 points and is three points ahead of Quinnipiac. They are coming off a weekend sweep at home against Brown and Yale. Union leads the league in goals per game at 3.54 overall and allows only 2.36 per game for a 1.18 average scoring margin. The power play unit has 27 goals on 125 chances for 21.6 percent efficiency.
Senior Daniel Carr leads the team with 30 points on 13 goals and 17 assists with five of the goals coming on the power play, which is tied with Michael Pontarelli for tops on the team. Daniel Ciampini and Mat Bodie each have 24 points on the year. Pontarelli has 12 goals and 12 assists, which Bodie leads the team with 20 helpers. Shayne Gostisbehere has 21 points and Kevin Sullivan does as well. The power play numbers features 11 different goal scorers.
In goal, Colin Stevens has enjoyed a great year with a 16-4-1 record with three shutouts in 23 starts. He has played in all 16 conference games and is 13-3-0, which is the top winning percentage in the league. He has a .921 save percentage and a 2.18 goals against average. He has an overall career record of 25-9-5.
SERIES HISTORY
The Raiders and Union have matched up 63 times prior to this weekend and Colgate has had the advantage in the series with a 39-22-2 advantage since the first meeting back in 1928-29. The Raiders have won the last two meetings. Colgate earned a 4-1 win last season in Spiro Goulakos’ first game at home since being diagnosed with Hodgkins lymphoma and he scored the gamewinner. The Raiders scored three goals in the third period against the Dutchmen on Nov. 8 to earn a stunning 5-3 win over Union. The Dutchem reeled off nine-straight wins after that loss.
