Conference Play Continues for Raiders
HAMILTON – The Colgate men’s hockey team resumes ECAC Hockey play this weekend with a visit to St. Lawrence and Clarkson.
MOVEMBER MUSTACHES
Led by John Lidgett, the men’s hockey team has teamed up with the Movember Foundation to raise money for men’s health by growing mustaches for the month of November. Fans can follow along with the team as they grow their ’staches. The team will post pictures on the site as well as on Twitter. Fans are asked to donate through the team’s page on the Movember website: moteam.co/colgate-hockey.
THIS WEEK: CONFERENCE PLAY CONTINUES
ECAC Hockey play continues this weekend with a visit to the North Country to skate against St. Lawrence and Clarkson. The Saints are off to a 6-2-2 start and is unbeaten in league play at 2-0-2. The Carey brothers earned two of the three weekly honors after wins over Harvard and Dartmouth. Clarkson is off to a hot start at 7-2-1, which included a six-game unbeaten streak. The Golden Knights have won seven of their last nine games and their 7-1-1 during that stretch.
NEXT WEEK: BACK AT STARR RINK
After two weeks away from Starr Rink, the Raiders are back on home ice against reigning national champion Yale and Brown. The Bulldogs are currently ranked ninth in the nation and has gone unbeaten in their last five games. The Elis only have one game this week as they host Sacred Heart on Saturday. The Bears have stumbled a bit out of the gate with a 3-3-1 mark overall and a 1-2-1 record in conference play. Brown played UNH on Tuesday night and lost by a 4-2 score.
WILSON HITS MILESTONE
Wilson tallied an assist against Union on Friday night for his 50th career point. He has the highest career numbers on the Raiders with 19 goals and 31 assists. He is coming off back-to-back 23-point seasons.
SCORING SHORTIES
Colgate’s games have been full of shorhanded goals as of late with at least one team scoring a shortie in four of the last five games. Three have been tallied by opponents, including Rensselaer last Saturday. Colgate got its first of the season from Darcy Murphy, who scored one with nine seconds left in the first period against Union.
MURPHY MARKS
Darcy Murphy continues to light the lamp over the past three weeks with five goals in the last six games, including five games in a row with a goal. He tallied his first collegiate two-goal game against Union on Friday night. He tied the game at 3-3 and also had a the shorthanded goal at the end of the first to get things started.
GOING INTO THE THIRD
Colgate has seen success this season when going into the final period with a lead or tied. The Raiders are 3-0-1 when leading or tied after two periods. Colgate held on against Ferris State for a 1-0 win and then settled for a 1-1 tie with Bowling Green on the road for the two closer outcomes. Last weekend at Union, it was the first time this season the Raiders won a game when being behind at the start of the third as they were down 3-2 after two.
SCOUTING THE SAINTS
Unbeaten in their previous five games, St. Lawrence hosts Colgate with a record of 6-2-2. The Saints’ early success can be contributed to a prolific offense that has not scored fewer than three goals in a game all season, including eight in their most recent win at Dartmouth.
St. Lawrence runs their offense primarily through the Carey brothers. ECAC Player of the Week Greg has scored six times while adding a team-best 13 assists to lead the team with 19 points. Conference Rookie of the Week Matt’s eight goals lead St. Lawrence while his 13 points rank second. The Saints’ offensive depth complements their two stars perfect. 10 other players have posted at least five points, including nine apiece from Gavin Beyreuther and Jeremy Wick.
The Saints’ offense has continued to thrive in power play situations. St. Lawrence has scored on 12 of 43 advantage, a success rate of .279. Their penalty kill, however, has not been as effective. Opponents have scored on 11 of their 47 power plays (23.4 percent).
Matt Weninger has started nine games in net, surrendering 27 goals against 228 saves, a percentage of .894. Weninger has three games with at least 30 saves and for the season has posted a 3.01 goals against average.
SERIES HISTORY
These two upstate New York schools will be playing for the 143rd time since Colgate and St. Lawrence met back in 1927-28. The series is just about even with the Saints holding a 75-63-4 advantage. The Saints took three of the four meetings last year, including the two in the playoffs to eliminate Colgate. The fourth game was a 3-3 tie at Appleton on Feb. 2. Coach Vaughan is 21-30-3 against his alma mater.
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS
Since dropping a 4-1 contest to New Hampshire on October 11, Clarkson has lost only once in the last month, winning seven of their nine games with one tie. The Golden Knights own a 9-2-1 record.
The Golden Knights have a fairly well-balanced offensive attack, featuring 10 players with at least five points. Ben Sexton leads the team in assists (nine) and points (11) while Allan McPherson ranks right behind him with nine points, thanks to his team-best five goals.
On the power play, Clarkson has scored 11 times in 52 advantages (21.2 percent) while killing off 44 of 53 penalties, a rate of .830.
SERIES HISTORY
These two long-time hockey schools are playing for the 145th time since Colgate and Clarkson met back in 1927-28. Clarkson has an 81-47-16 advantage in the series. The Raiders have put a dent in the series by going unbeaten in 13 of the last 16 games, including a win and a tie last season. Colgate has had a tough time in Potsdam with the Golden Knights leading 40-16-11 in games played at Cheel Arena.
