Raiders Relive 2013-14 Season
Seniors Eric Mihalik & Mike McCann Honored at Team Banquet
HAMILTON – The Raiders took a look back at a great season and handed out team awards at the annual team banquet on April 4.
Head coach Don Vaughan and the coaching staff announced team captains for the 2014-15 season, but there was no surprise as Spiro Goulakos will return as captain and Joe Wilson is remaining as an assistant captain.
The team voted on six of the eight awards with the exception being the Best Offensive Player and Coaches Award. The Best Offensive Player is given to the player with the most points on the team.
One of the big awards of the night was the Terry Slater Trophy and that went to senior Eric Mihalik. The trophy is awarded by the Silver Puck Club and goes to the senior whose performance, leadership, and dedication on and off the ice during his career had the greatest impact on Colgate hockey. Slater, who presided over the Raider hockey program for 15 years, passed away due to a stroke at the midway point of the 1991-92 season.
Mihalik appeared in 11 games during the season and went 4-5-1 overall. He was honored for his leadership and attitude all year when mentoring rookie Charlie Finn and other players on the team. Mihalik finished his career with 83 games played, which is fifth all-time and became the sixth goalie in Colgate history to record 2,000 saves in his career. He is also in the top-10 in wins with 32 in his career.
The Dan Coley “Barrel” Award, which is given to the best defenseman, was received by junior captain Spiro Goulakos. The Montreal native was honored with the award for the second-straight year and joins six other skaters that have won the award in back-to-back seasons. Rob Brown ’04 is the only player to win it three years in a row. Goulakos was back at full strength this season and played in all 39 games, scoring a career-high nine goals. He added five power play goals and his 20 points were tied for sixth on the team.
Finn was voted by his teammates as The Best Defensive Player. The rookie netminder was incredible in his first season with the Raiders after posting a 16-8-4 record between the pipes. He won the most games since Mark Dekanich ’08 had 18 in the 2007-08 season. Finn’s 11 conference victories were only second to Union’s Colin Stevens for league wins and his save percentage (.918) and goals against average (2.35) was among the top netminders in ECAC Hockey.
The Steve Riggs Award, which is given to the player who is most known for gentlemanly play and possesses a high standard of ability, went to Mike Borkowski. The sophomore centerman enjoyed a breakout season with career highs in all three offensive categories with eight goals and 20 assists for 28 points. He ranked fourth on the team in scoring and he had four gamewinners for the most on the squad. The Kanata, Ont., native was known as one of the best penalty killers on the Raiders and was second on the team among forwards in blocked shots with 23.
Junior assistant captain Joe Wilson took home the Rob Ries Award for his inspiration and leadership on the team. Wilson played most of the season on a line with two rookies and the three became a formidable third line on the Raiders. He finished with at least 20 points for the third-straight season and has 66 career points in 113 games. Twelve of his 20 points came in league play and he had three power play goals and a gamewinner. Wilson is one of Colgate’s most energetic players and causes a lot of problems in the offensive zone for opposing offenses.
Two Raiders split the Whit Williams Award, which was handed out by Whit’s widow Linda, went to Mike McCann and Jake Kulevich. The award is given to the most improved player throughout the season.
McCann had his best season as a Raider in 2013-14 with a career-high 11 points on seven goals and four helpers. McCann’s most memorable game came against Cornell in early February when he scored two goals in a 6-1 drubbing of the Big Red at home. Kulevich finished the year with nine assists, which was third on the team among defensemen. He improved the most throughout the season and became a very reliable skater on the backend. He had assists in both games at Lake Placid.
The Best Offensive Player went to Tyson Spink as the top point-getter for the Raiders. He finished with 33 points on 10 goals and 23 helpers. He was among the top assists guys in the league and he also tallied three power play goals and three gamewinners. He tallied his first career hat trick against Princeton in a 6-1 win late in the regular season. Spink also sent the Raiders to their first ECAC Hockey final in 24 years with the double-overtime winner against Quinnipiac at Lake Placid.
The Coaches Award was given to Kyle Baun. The sophomore worked extremely hard this season for Colgate and scored 26 points on 11 goals and 15 assists. He was second on the team in power play goals with six and he has 50 career points on 25 goals and 25 helpers. Baun was a big body in front for the Raiders all season and combined with the Spink Twins to score 89 points on the top line of the Raiders.
