League Play Resumes For Raiders
Men’s Hockey Travels to Dartmouth and Harvard
HAMILTON – The Colgate men’s hockey team has enjoyed success in 2014 and will look to carry it into ECAC Hockey play this weekend with visits to Dartmouth and Harvard.
The Raiders take on the Big Green on Friday night at 7 p.m., followed by a Saturday matchup at 7 p.m. in Cambridge against the Crimson. Live video, audio and stats will be available at game time.
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: 2014 LEAGUE SLATE STARTS
Colgate heads out on the road this weekend with league competition resuming at Dartmouth and Harvard. The Raiders enter the second half with a 5-3-1 mark in conference and sit in fourth place. The Crimson and Big Green sit at the low end of the standings with only four wins between them, but playing Ivies is always a tough task.
NEXT UP: CLARKSON & ST. LAWRENCE AT HOME
The Raiders are back on home ice next weekend with a visit from No. 14 Clarkson and St. Lawrence. The Golden Knights have struggled as of late with only one win in their last six games and is 1-4-1 in those games. They were shutout by Merrimack on Jan. 11 after beating the Warriors the night before. The Saints are not much better with five-straight losses, but have only played one game since Dec. 14.
NO MORE NON-CONFERENCE
The Raiders are done with their non-conference portion of their schedule after the win over Vermont. Colgate finished the slate with a 4-6-2 record and earned wins in the last three non-league games. Colgate played the most games against the Western Collegiate Hockey Association and went 2-2-1 in seven games with two wins over Ferris State and a tie at Bowling Green.
ROAD WARRIORS
GOAL SCORER’S TOUCH
Darcy Murphy has emerged as a great goal scorer for the Raiders and leads the team with 11 on the year with three goals in his last three games. He has already eclipsed his goal output from a season ago. Murphy has scored goals since arriving on campus as he has 30 career points with 21 goals and nine assists. He has six goals in his last nine games with two coming on the power play.
POWERING UP THE POWER PLAY
Colgate has struggled on the power play this season, but the Raiders saw some improvement over the last two games with four goals with the extra man on 11 chances. Vermont came into Starr Rink last weekend as one of the top penalty-killing teams in the nation and the Raiders scored twice, including the gamewinner, on the power play.
TEAM DEFENSE
The Raiders have buckled down recently on the defensive end allowing only 1.7 goals per game in their last seven games. The defense was a major reason for the Maricucci Classic win as Colgate held two of the top scoring teams in the nation to just two goals in two games. The Raiders have played great defense with a lead in the third period as they are 7-0-3 being tied or ahead after the second period.
MARIUCCI CLASSIC CHAMPS
The Raiders won its second tournament title in the last three years with a 3-0 shutout win over Ferris State on Jan. 4 at the Mariucci Classic. The other tournament win came in the Omaha Stampede back in 2011. The Raiders advanced to the championship game with the Bulldogs after a shootout win over No. 1 Minnesota after a 2-2 tie in regulation. Ryan Johnston scored the winner in the shootout after the Gophers missed two of their three attempts.
SCOUTING THE BIG GREEN
Dartmouth enters the weekend with a 3-12-2 record and has one win over its last seven games, which includes an 8-8 tie with Northeastern and a 1-1 deadlock at Vermont. The Big Green wrapped up its non-league slate with a 4-2 win at Boston University and a 4-2 loss against New Hampshire. Goals against has been a problem from Dartmouth as it allows almost four goals a game.
Eric Neiley has been a bright spot with 14 points on 10 goals and four assists. Four of the 10 goals have come on the power play, which is a team high. The Big Green has done well on the power play with 14 goals on 62 chances for a 21-percent success rate. Brad Schierhorn and Andy Simpson are second on the team in points with nine. Schierhorn has four goals and five assists, while Simpson has three tallies and six helpers.
SERIES HISTORY
The Dartmouth-Colgate series is one of the most competitive in the country with the Big Green leading the series at 45-42-5. The series has gone to overtime 14 times with Colgate holding a 5-4-5 advantage after the 14th time in 2011. The last three meetings have been 5-4 games with Dartmouth winning two of the three, including an overtime win in 2012. These two teams played the longest game in Colgate history as it was just over 121 minutes long with Kyle Wilson ’06 scoring the gamewinner in 2003 in a 4-3 win. The series began in 1928-29 with Dartmouth winning 9-1 in Hamilton.
SCOUTING THE CRIMSON
Harvard comes into the weekend with a 5-8-3 record and a 2-6-3 mark in conference play. The Crimson has won one game in its last six games which was a 7-4 win over Boston University. Harvard is coming off a 5-1 loss to Yale on Saturday at Madison Square Garden. The Crimson sit tied for eighth in ECAC Hockey and is averaging 2.5 goals per game. The first period has been a problem as Harvard has been outside 14-6 in the opening 20 minutes.
Jimmy Vesey leads the team with 10 goals and 14 points in 16 games. His goals have meant a lot as three have been gamewinners and four have come on the power play. Kyle Criscuolo has contributed with 12 points with eight goals and four assists. The Crimson have a young team like Colgate with only four seniors and only two players have seen action in 100 or more games.
In goal, Raphael Girard has started 11 games and has a 4-5-2 mark despite having one of the best goals against averages in the conference at 2.38. He has played great in conference with a 1.98 goals against average, which leads ECAC Hockey, but he is 1-4-2 in conference matchups.
SERIES HISTORY
Colgate and Harvard will be facing each other for the 77th time since the first meeting back in 1960-61, which was the opening season of ECAC Hockey. The Crimson hold a 47-22-7 advantage in the series, but the matchup has been even as of late with a tied series at 4-4-3 margin in the last 11 meetings. The two teams have played 11 overtime contests with Harvard owning a 4-1-6 record in those games.
