Senior Weekend on Tap for #15/16 Raiders
Mike McCann & Eric Mihalik Honored on Saturday

HAMILTON – The Raiders will recognize its two seniors on Saturday as Colgate hosts Harvard and Dartmouth this weekend with seedings on the line for the league playoffs.

The Raiders have clinched a bye, but these games will have playoff implications. Colgate can finish anywhere from the second to the fourth seed. The Raiders face the Crimson on Friday night at 7 p.m., followed by a matchup with the Big Green on Saturday night for a 7 p.m. faceoff.

Both games are going to be live on the Patriot League Network. Fans can also listen online at wkxzfm.com.

COLGATE HOCKEY ON TWITTER
Colgate men’s hockey is on Twitter. Fans can follow along for behind the scenes photos and facts, while also getting game day updates and alumni stories. Search for the Twitter handle @Colgate_Hockey and follow the Raiders today.

THIS WEEK: SENIOR WEEKEND AT STARR
The Raiders will be in action for the final time in the regular season this weekend as Colgate hosts Harvard and Dartmouth. Both schools are tied for 10th in ECAC Hockey with 14 points, but are still alive in the hunt for a home playoff series in the first round of the conference tournament. The Crimson are coming off a weekend sweep by Yale and Brown at home, while the Big Green earned three league points with a win over the Bears and a tie versus the Bulldogs.

NEXT UP: A WEEK OFF BEFORE QUARTERFINALS
Colgate is set to take a week off after this weekend as the Raiders earned a first-round bye in the ECAC Hockey Tournament. Colgate’s possible opponent will not be determined until the first round is over due to the re-seeding of teams after the opening series. The Raiders face the second-lowest seed to advance in the quarterfinals. Tickets are on sale now for the weekend of March 14-16.

NOW IN BOTH POLLS
The Raiders joined both polls for the first time this season as Colgate is ranked 15th in the USA Hockey/USA Hockey Magazine National Poll. The Raiders are in the USCHO National Poll for the third-straight week at No. 16, which is a season high. Colgate is one of five teams in the league that are ranked, joining Union, Quinnipiac, Cornell and Yale.

SENIOR NIGHT SATURDAY
Colgate will honor two of its seniors on Saturday night as they will be playing in their final regular season game at Starr Rink. Eric Mihalik and Mike McCann have made significant contributions to the program since arriving on campus. Mihalik ranks 10th all-time in wins with 31 in his career and has played in 82 career games, which is fifth all-time. He currently ranks fourth in goals against average at 2.85 and his .901 save percentage is in the top-10. McCann has appeared in 138 games for the Raiders entering the weekend. He has 29 career points on 15 goals and 14 helpers. His seven goals this year are a career best.

LEAGUE VICTORIES
This year has been one of the most successful conference years under head coach Don Vaughan. The Raiders have 12 wins in ECAC Hockey with a 7-2-2 mark in the second half of the season. The 12 victories in league is the most since Colgate had 14 in 2005-06. The Raiders won their second Cleary Cup title that year and made the final four of the conference tournament.

BYE CLINCHED
Colgate has earned a first-round bye in the upcoming ECAC Hockey Tournament for the second time in the last three seasons. The Raiders can finish between the second and fourth spots in the standings after this weekend. Union has already clinched the Cleary Cup for regular season champions. The Raiders will not know their opponent until the conclusion of all four first round series as the league reseeds.

SPINK TWINS TAKE TURNS
Friday night at Princeton it was Tyson Spink and then on Saturday it was Tylor Spink at Quinnipiac that led the Raiders to each win. Tyson tallied his first career multi-goal game with a hat trick at Hobey Baker Rink with one of the goals coming on the power play. Tylor had two assists against the Tigers, but turned in his best performance against Quinnipiac with two goals, including the gamewinner.

SECOND HALF SUCCESS
The Raiders have enjoyed success in the second half of the season with a 9-2-3 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 5-1-2 against top-20 teams in 2014. The Raiders have averaged 3.5 goals per game during the second half and are allowing just under two per game.

THE IMPORTANT FIRST GOAL
Colgate scored the first goal in both games last weekend and has done it in 17 games this year. The Raiders have won 12 of those games and tied three. In 15 of the 16 wins, Colgate has had the lead or has been tied after the first period. The Raiders are 15-1-4 with the lead or tied after 20 minutes. The lone come-from-behind win was again Union on Nov. 8when the Raiders scored three in the final period to win 5-3 on the road.

DOMINATING CLASS
The sophomore class continues to put up numbers and it continued last weekend as the Class of 2016 tallied eight of the nine goals in the two wins with five coming from the Spink twins. Overall the class has 59 of the 94 scored by the Raiders, which is 63 percent of the scoring output on the team. They have 89 assists for a total of 148 points. That number is 60 percent of the points scored this season. The top five scorers for Colgate are sophomores and all have over 20 points. The top line of the Spinks and Kyle Baun have accounted for 77 point this year.

SCOUTING THE CRIMSON
Harvard is coming off a weekend sweep at the hands of Yale and Brown at home. The Crimson lost to the Bulldogs by a 5-2 score and then was shutout by the Bears at 2-0. Harvard had built momentum into the weekend with a four-game unbeaten streak. The Crimson had wins over Clarkson and St. Lawrence on the road during the streak and a 6-2 win in the consolation game of the Beanpot Tournament against Boston University. Harvard is still alive for a home playoff series with a 5-11-4 conference mark and a 9-14-4 overall record.

The Crimson’s roster is loaded with NHL draft picks with nine of them, which is the most among ECAC Hockey teams. Jimmy Vesey leads the way with 22 points on 13 goals and nine assists. Five of his 13 goals have been gamewinners and four have come on the power play. Kyle Criscuolo is tied with Vesey for the team lead in power play goals and has 19 points on 11 goals and eight assists. Sean Malone has 18 points on five goals and 13 helpers as a rookie. The power play has had its struggles this season with only 16 goals in 110 chances for a 14.5 percent efficiency.

In goal, Harvard has had two capable netminders all season in Steve Michalek and Raphael Girard. Michalek has played in 15 games and has a 2.41 goals against average and a .922 save percentage. Girard has great conference numbers with a 1.99 GAA and a .938 save percentage. Both lead the league.

SERIES HISTORY
Colgate and Harvard will be facing each other for the 78th time since the first meeting back in 1960-61, which was the opening season of ECAC Hockey. The Crimson hold a 47-23-7 advantage in the series, but the matchup has been even as of late with Colgate having a slim series lead at 5-4-3 margin in the last 12 meetings. The two teams have played 11 overtime contests with Harvard owning a 4-1-6 record in those games.

SCOUTING THE BIG GREEN
Dartmouth had a rough start to the season with eight-straight losses and had a winless streak of five games in January, but the Big Green has seen success as of late. Dartmouth is riding a four-game unbeaten streak into the weekend. The Big Green beat Brown and tied Yale at home in its last two games. The tie with the Elis helped Colgate secure a first-round bye in the ECAC Hockey Tournament. Defense has been an issue as Dartmouth has allowed around 3.5 goals per game this season. With the recent success, the Big Green is 10th in the standings with 14 points and is three points back of hosting a first-round series.

Eric Neiley leads the way with 22 points on 12 goals and 10 assists. He has four power play goals, which is tied with Brandon McNally for tops on the team. McNally has 17 points for second on the team with five goals and a team high 12 helpers. Rookie Grant Opperman has been a bright spot with 15 points on eight goals and seven assists. Dartmouth has missed its top scorer from a season ago in seven of its games as Tyler Sikura has nine points in 18 games played. He had the gamewinner on Friday night against Brown in the 2-1 win.

Canisius (12-17-3, 11-11-3 AHA) vs. RIT (9-18-5, 8-14-3 AHA)
Dates: Friday, February 28 / Saturday, March 1
Times: 7:05 p.m. / 7:05 p.m.
Locations: Buffalo, N.Y. / Rochester, N.Y.
TV/Webcast: Time Warner SportsChannel (Fri. & Sat.) / ESPN3 (Friday only)
TV Talent: Sal Capaccio & Kris Baker (Friday) / Gene Battaglia & John DiTullio (Saturday)
DI Series History: RIT leads, 16-9-0

The Canisius College hockey team wraps up the 2013-14 regular season with a pair of games against RIT. The Griffs welcome the Tigers to Buffalo on Friday, while the schools meet in Rochester on Saturday. Both games are at 7:05 p.m. and will be televised on Time Warner SportsChannel. Friday’s game can also be seen live on ESPN3.

SCOUTING THE GRIFFS
• Canisius (12-17-3, 11-11-3 AHA) split a two-game series last weekend with Robert Morris, losing 4-1 on Friday before a 6-3 win on Saturday.
• Senior Kyle Gibbons leads Canisius with 30 points, 13 goals and eight power-play tallies this season.
• Senior Tony Capobianco owns a 3.06 goals against average and .907 save percentage in 22 starts this season with an 8-11-2 record.

AHA TOURNAMENT UPDATE
• The Griffs are currently tied for sixth in the Atlantic Hockey standings with Niagara (Purple Eagles hold the tiebreaker).
• Canisius will finish anywhere from sixth to eighth in the final standings.
• The Griffs will play either AIC, RIT or Sacred Heart at home next weekend in a best 2-of-3 series.

SENIOR DAY CELEBRATION
• Canisius will honor its seven seniors prior to Friday’s game.
• Ryan Bohrer, Tony Capobianco, Ben Danford, Kyle Gibbons, Taylor Law, Duncan McKellar and Patrick Sullivan will all play in their final home regular-season game on Friday.
• The seven have combined to play in 848 career games with 363 points, 133 goals, 230 assists and 2,783 saves.

CAPOBIANCO CHASING A PAIR OF SCHOOL RECORDS
• Senior Tony Capobianco is nearing a pair of school records.
• Capobianco has totaled 2,783 saves in his career. He is just 46 stops shy of the school record.
• The senior also recorded his sixth career shutout on Feb. 14. He is now tied for the most in the program’s Division I history with Bryan Worosz and Andrew Loewen.

CANISIUS – RIT SERIES HISTORY
• In a series that dates back to the Griffs’ inaugural season of 1980-81, RIT holds a 46-15-1 advantage in 62 all-time meetings between the two schools.
• Canisius has played only Mercyhurst more than the Tigers during the program’s history.
• Since RIT moved to Division I for the 2005-06 season, the Tigers own a 16-9-0 edge in the series.
• The Griffs have won the last four contests against the Tigers in the last two years – the longest winning streak for Canisius in the 62-game series history.
• Canisius earned a 5-2 home victory over RIT on Nov. 19. Senior Kyle Gibbons led the Griffs with three points (2g, 1a) in the win.

ABOUT THE TIGERS
• RIT enters the weekend tied for 10th in the Atlantic Hockey standings with a 8-14-3 record. Overall, the Tigers are 9-18-5 this season.
• The Tigers snapped a nine-game winless streak in their most recent contest, posting a 3-2 victory at Air Force.
• Michael Colavecchia leads the Tigers with 29 points and 12 goals this season. Greg Noyes ranks second on the team with 23 points, including a team-best 18 assists.
• Jordan Ruby and Mike Rotolo have split time in net. Ruby owns a 3-11-2 record with a 3.64 goals against average and .892 save percentage, while Rotolo is 6-7-3 with a 2.99 goals against average and .905 save percentage.

The Niagara hockey team wraps up the 2013-14 Atlantic Hockey Association regular season with a home series against Air Force this weekend.  Niagara will host the Tigers on Friday and Saturday night at 7:05 p.m. at Dwyer Arena.

Niagara (10-17-5; 10-10-5 AHA) enters the final weekend of the regular season tied with Canisius with 25 points each in the AHA standings, but NU wins the tiebreaker against the Griffs for possession of sixth place.  The Purple Eagles can finish as high as sixth in the league standings, and no lower than eighth, ensuring NU will play a first round series for the first time since becoming a member of the AHA back in 2010-11 where the Purple and White dropped a 6-3 decision to cross-town rival Canisius in a single-elimination contest.

Last weekend the Purple Eagles went 0-1-1 against Mercyhurst in a two-game tilt, drawing 3-3 on Friday, while falling the Lakers 4-2 on Saturday.

HOW TO CATCH THE GAMES
•  Saturday’s game at Dwyer will be available on LCTV, with both Niagara’s games against Air Force being broadcast live on 1340 WLVL. Jeremy White will be on broadcast duties on Friday and Paul Hamilton cover Saturday’s game.
•   Live stats for all NU home games are available via www.purpleeagles.com.  The stats can be accessed from the main page under the event calendar section. Scroll down to the game, and click on the bars to the right that represent LiveStats.

DON’T MISS OUT!
• Tickets for both games are still available so call the Niagara Tickets Office (located inside Dwyer Arena) at 716-286-TIXX, visit www.PurpleEagles.com/Tickets or by emailing [email protected] to reserve your seats today!

HONORING THE SENIORS
•   On Saturday, the Purple Eagles will honor seniors Ryan Rashid, Patrick Divjak, Kevin Ryan and Matt Williams.
•   The quartet has helped lead NU to a 68-51-23 record in four seasons.  In 2012-13, as juniors, this group helped lead the Purple Eagles to a Atlantic Hockey Association Regular Season Title and a trip to the NCAA Division I West Regionals, becoming the first AHA team to earn an at-large bid since the conference’s inception in 2003.
•   The quartet have combined for 67 goals, 181 assists and 251 points in 531 games played.

NIAGARA TIDBITS
•   Isaac Kohls and Hugo Turcotte are neck-in-neck when it comes to who leads the Purple Eagle statistical board.  Kohls is tops on the team in points (24), and goals (12), while Turcotte, who has 22 points on the season, is tops on the team in assists with 13, while freshman Vincent Muto and Kohls are one behind with 12 helpers.  Ryan Rashid has also been a key offensive contributor, pocketing 10 goals and nine assists in 12 games.
•   Matt Williams is first with a +13 plus/minus rating.
•   Isaac Kohls leads the squad with 108 shots on goal. Patrick Divjak is close behind with 105 looks on net.
•  Freshmen goaltenders Jackson Teichroeb (4-11-3) and Adrian Ignagni (6-6-2) have split time between the pipes in 32 games thus far, with Teichroeb owning a .900 save percentage and a 2.95 goals-against average and Ignagni with a .900 save percentage and a 3.11 goals-against average.

DEPTH PERCEPTION
•  Twenty-four of the 27 Purple Eagles on the active roster (including goaltenders) have registered at least one point this season.
•  NU have secured points from all the classes, as the freshmen lead the way with 81 points, with the sophomores not far behind with 61 of 232 Purple Eagles points.  The seniors have collected 47 points, while the juniors have pocketed 43 points.

BACK-TO-BACK-TO-BACK-TO-BACK
•  NU’s Ryan Rashid is one point from being the first Purple Eagle to net four consecutive 20 point seasons since Chris Moran achieved it from the 2006-07 through the 2009-10 season.
•   Rashid has pocketed 20-plus points during his first three seasons as a Purple Eagle: 26 as a rookie, and 21 as a sophomore and junior.  The co-captain currently has 19 points off 10 goals and nine assists.

SERIES HISTORY
•  Air Force and Niagara will meet for the 52nd time with NU holding a 29-18-4 lead in the series that began in 1996 when both teams were independents.
•  The 31 times played while both programs were members of the College Hockey America conference saw NU win 22 of 31 meetings.
•   Air Force has had the upper hand since becoming AHA rivals, holding a 7-2-1 lead in the series.

SCOUTING THE FALCONS
•  Air Force currently owns a 19-11-4 overall mark, while holding a 14-8-3 AHA record.  The Falcons are tied for third place in the AHA standings with UConn as both teams have 31 points to their name.
•  The Falcons’ last pair of games came against RIT on Feb. 21 and Feb. 22.  Air Force took game one, 4-3, with Jason Torf’s 28-save effort, while the Tigers pocketed a 3-2 victory the following day to split the weekend series.
•  Air Force is averaging 3.00 goals a game and are allowing 2.71, placing them 22nd and 32nd in the nation, respectively.
•  The power play has gone 21-for-134, while the penalty kill is 95-for-118, ranking them 47th and 41st in the NCAA, respectively.
•  Cole Gunner leads the offense with 41 points off 14 goals and 27 assists.  Chad Demers is just two points behind Gunner with 14 goals and 24 assists, while Scott Holm has cracked the 20-point mark (26) with 11 goals and 15 helpers.
•  In the net, Jason Torf (11-6-4) has played the majority of games, playing in 21, while Chris Truehl (8-3-0) has also seen some time between the pipes.  Torf owns a .911 save percentage and a 2.60 goals against average, while Truehl has made 278 saves for a .921 save percentage and a 2.01 goals against average.

PLAYOFF UPDATE
•   Mercyhurst clinched the AHA regular season title last week, while Bentley, Air Force, UConn and Robert Morris are vying for the remaining three bye slots, with the odd team out finishing fifth.
•   Niagara and Canisius, who clinched first-round home games, and Holy Cross are fighting for the sixth through eighth spots.   The 9-11 slots are being fought for by RIT, AIC and Sacred Heart, while Amy clinched the 12th spot some time ago.
•   This will be the first time since the 2010-11 season where the Purple Eagles will not earn a first-round bye since entering the AHA.   Niagara played Canisius in a single-elimination playoff game on March 5, 2011.   The Purple and White were derailed by its cross-town rival, 6-3.
•   Round one of the Atlantic Hockey tournament will run Friday, March 7 through Sunday, March 9, with round two being played the following weekend (March 14-March 16).  Both rounds will be best two out of three played at the home site of the higher seed.
•   The semifinals (March 21) and final (March 23) will be contested at the Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, N.Y.

The Hobart College hockey team took a 2-1 lead in the first period and held on to defeat sixth-seeded Nazareth College by that score in an ECAC West quarterfinal played tonight at The Cooler. The No. 3 seed Statesmen improve to 14-8-1 overall and advance to the semifinals.

Hobart will face No. 2 seeded Elmira in a semifinal game at the Soaring Eagles’ Murray Athletic Center on Saturday, March 1, at 7 p.m. It will be the third time in nine days that Elmira and Hobart will face off.

It was the fourth meeting between the Statesmen and the Golden Flyers this season. Hobart finishes the year with a 2-1-1 advantage in those meetings. Nazareth finished its season with an 8-16-2 overall record.

Five different Statesmen earned a point in the win. Sophomore goalie Lino Chimienti (Montreal, Quebec) topped his career-high in saves set in last Saturday’s win over Elmira, turning aside 45 shots in all 60 minutes in goal tonight.

The Statesmen jumped out to a 1-0 lead just 34 seconds into the first period. Junior Ian Coleman sent a pass ahead to classmate Tommaso Traversa (Torino, Italy) who was streaking in. Traversa laid out to tip a pass to senior Tommy Fiorentino (New Hartford, N.Y.) who slid his shot underneath Nazareth’s goalie, Ed Zdolshek. It was Fiorentino’s eighth tally this year. First-year Nick Bingaman (Bedford, N.Y.) made it 2-0 with 1:07 left in the opening period. After a Golden Flyers turnover at center ice, junior Ryan Michel (Camillus, N.Y.) sent a pass to Bingaman who had a one-on-one with Zdolshek and lifted a shot over his shoulder. It was Bingaman’s sixth goal this year and proved to be the game-winning goal.

Don Oliveri put Nazareth on the scoreboard with just nine seconds left in the first. Chris Murray won a faceoff for the Golden Flyers in their offensive end and Oliveri collected the puck and immediately fired into the top right corner of the goal.

The second and third periods proved scoreless. The Golden Flyers controlled a lot of the momentum in the middle period out-shooting the Statesmen 21-13, but the Hobart defense held strong. Nazareth also held a 13-8 edge in shots in the third period. It seemed the Golden Flyers may have scored the game-tying goal with 6:18 left in the third, but it was called off because a rebound was kicked across the line by one of the Nazareth players. With just over five minutes remaining, Oliveri came inches away from scoring again as he blasted a shot off the right post.

The Statesmen penalty kill unit came through in a big way, killing all five Nazareth power plays, including one with 3:23 to go in the final period. The Golden Flyers pulled Zdolshek twice in the final minutes, but were unable to capitalize with the extra skater. Zdolshek finished with 32 saves in 59:10 in goal for Nazareth.

Nazareth finished with a 46-34 edge in total shots. The Statesmen went 0-for-2 on the power play.

Five members of the Hobart College hockey team earned All-ECAC West honors as announced by the conference office this afternoon. Junior defenseman Terrence O’Neill (Kearny, N.J.) was named to the all-conference first team, while junior defenseman Ryan Michel (Camillus, N.Y.) and sophomore forward Mac Olson (Grosse Pointe, Mich.) earned spots on the second team. Sophomore forward Ben Gamache (Longlac, Ontario) garnered honorable mention and first-year defenseman Carl Belizario (Montreal, Quebec) was selected to the all-rookie team.

An alternate captain, O’Neill has posted 13 points on three goals and 10 assists this season. He posted a season-high three points, all on assists, in a 5-1 victory at Manhattanville. O’Neill scored the first game-winning goal of his career 56 seconds into overtime for a 3-2 victory at Elmira last Friday. He is tied for sixth in the conference with two short-handed points and is tied for eighth in defenseman scoring. O’Neill has played a key role in the Statesmen defensive and penalty kill units. Hobart leads the ECAC West in penalty kills (83.5 percent – 106/127) and ranks second in scoring defense (2.84 ga/gm).

O’Neill has played in 71 career games and has logged eight goals and 33 assists for 41 career points. He was selected the All-ECAC West Co-Rookie of the Year and earned a spot on the all-rookie team in 2012.

Michel earned second team honors for the second year in a row. He ranks second on the team with 16 assists this season. Michel notched a season-high three helpers in two games this year, a 7-4 win at Cortland and in a 5-1 win over Nazareth. He ranks second in the ECAC West and 26th in the country in defenseman scoring. Michel is tied for seventh in the conference in assists and is tied sixth in power-play points (11). He was tabbed the ECAC West Player of the Week once this year.

Michel has played in 69 career games. He has posted six goals and 43 assists for 49 career points.

Olson leads the Statesmen with 27 points and 15 goals. He has added 12 assists and notched three game-winning goals this year. Olson produced a season-high four points on two goals and two assists in a 6-1 rout of Potsdam. He notched three points on two goals and an assist in a 5-4 overtime win at Elmira last Saturday. Olson ranks in the top six in the conference in five different statistical categories. He shares the league lead in goals and ranks sixth in points. Olson is tied for third in the conference and seventh in the nation in short-handed goals (2). He’s tied for third in game-winning goals and is tied for sixth in short-handed points (2). He earned a spot on the Buck Supply Winter Classic All-Tournament Team earlier this year.

The 2013 ECAC West Rookie of the Year has played in 51 career games. Olson has recorded 23 goals and 26 assists for 49 career points. He also earned a spot on the ECAC West All-Rookie Team last season.

Gamache ranks second on the team with 25 points on 10 goals and 15 assists. He ranks second in the ECAC West and is tied for 10th in the nation with seven power-play goals. Gamache ranks in the top 10 in the conference in eight statistical categories. He’s tied for second in power-play points (14), tied for third in short-handed points (4), tied for sixth in short-handed goals (1), tied for seventh in game-winning goals (2), tied for eighth in points, and tied for 10th in goals and assists. Gamache has produced at least one point in 18 games this season and posted two or more points five times. He logged a season-high three points twice, in 5-1 wins over Manhattanville and Nazareth. Gamache notched the game winner in victories over Cortland and Nazareth.

Gamache has played in 49 career games, posting 18 goals and 21 assists for 39 points. He is currently tied for 10th on the Hobart list for power-play goals in a season.

Belizario posted five goals and 10 assists for 15 points in his rookie season. He logged a season-high three points on three assists in a 5-2 win at Salve Regina and scored the game-winning goal in a 4-1 victory at Nichols. Belizario was tabbed the ECAC West Rookie of the Week once this season. He is tied for third in the league in defensemen scoring and tied for fourth in first-year scoring. Belizario plays a key role in the Statesmen defensive unit that earned a 5-0 shutout of Manhattanville to start the year and is limiting opponents to 2.84 goals per game. He was named to the Buck Supply Winter Classic All-Tournament Team earlier this year.

Third-seeded Hobart will be in action tonight, Feb. 26 when it hosts No. 6 seed Nazareth in an ECAC West tournament quarterfinal at 7 p.m. Fans who can’t make it to The Cooler can follow the action online with Live Stats.