Colgate Men’s Game Notes for This Weekend Feb. 19-22

February 21, 2014

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Princeton & #5 Quinnipiac on Tap for #19 Raiders
Final Regular Season Road Weekend for Men’s Hockey

HAMILTON – The Colgate men’s hockey team hits the road for its final regular season weekend away from Starr Rink with visits to Princeton and #5 Quinnipiac.

The Raiders take on Princeton on Friday night at Hobey Baker Rink, followed by aSaturday night matchup with the Bobcats. The game against the Bobcats will have free live video, while also being live on New England Sports Network (NESN).

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: REGULAR SEASON ROAD FINALE
Colgate plays its final two regular season road games this weekend at Princeton and Quinnipiac. The Tigers have struggled this season and comes into the weekend with a 5-20-0 overall record and sits in 12th place in ECAC Hockey at 4-14-0. Quinnipiac on the other hand has reached 20 wins for the third-straight year as the Bobcats are 21-6-5. They have been up-and-down recently however with a 3-3-0 mark in their last six matchups.

NEXT UP: PLAYOFF SEEDING ON THE LINE
The Raiders will be in action for the final time in the regular season next weekend as Colgate hosts Harvard and Dartmouth. The Crimson have enjoyed success lately with a 4-1-1 mark over its last six games and moved up to ninth in ECAC Hockey. The Big Green is 3-1 in its last four, including a North Country sweep, outscoring St. Lawrence and Clarkson 9-2 in the two games. Harvard still has a chance of hosting a first-round series, while Dartmouth will need some help.

REMAINING IN THE RANKINGS
Colgate stayed in the USCHO National Poll for the second-straight week at No. 19. The Raiders are one of five ECAC Hockey teams that are in this week’s poll, joining Union, Quinnipiac, Cornell and Yale. It is the first time this year that the Raiders remained in the top-20 in back-to-back weeks.

THE CAPTAIN STEPS UP
Spiro Goulakos has been on fire lately with nine points in his last six games from the blueline. He scored his eighth goal of the season against Union after going scoreless versus Rensselaer, which snapped his four-game point streak. His eight goals this season are a career high and he is one point away from a career high, which came as a rookie. Five of his eight goals have come on the man advantage which is second on the team. He is tied for second in the conference among defensemen with 15 league points.

HOME ICE CLINCHED
With the two ties last weekend, the Raiders have clinched a home series in the ECAC Hockey playoffs as they cannot finish below eighth place in the league with four games to play. Colgate sits in third place in ECAC Hockey with 23 points. The top four teams get first-round byes and the next four get home ice for the opening round. Colgate might have to wait until the final weekend to clinch as Cornell and Clarkson are three points back.

JOHNSTON CONTRIBUTING
The Johnston family is enjoying success in Sochi with Rebecca Johnston and Team Canada, but Ryan has been putting up numbers over the last couple weeks as well. Johnston had his fourth multi-point game this season against Union, which is the most among defensemen on the Raiders. He has four points in his last four games. He has ecplised his career high in all three offensive categories, including 14 points. He had eight points in 35 games last year.

SECOND HALF SUCCESS
The Raiders have enjoyed success in the second half of the season with a 7-2-3 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 4-1-2 against top-20 teams in 2014. Colgate has scored 15 goals in the four wins.

THE IMPORTANT FIRST GOAL
Colgate scored the first goal in both games last weekend and has done it in 15 games this year. The Raiders have won 10 of those games and tied three. In 13 of the 14 wins, Colgate has had the lead or has been tied after the first period. The Raiders are 13-1-4 with the lead or tied after 20 minutes. The lone come-from-behind win was again Union on Nov. 8 when the Raiders scored three in the final period to win 5-3 on the road.

SCOUTING THE TIGERS
Princeton has struggled this season, carrying a 5-20-0 overall record and 4-14-0 conference mark, which puts them in the 12th spot. The Tigers are coming off a 7-5 loss at Yale on Saturday. Last Friday marked Princeton’s first win in five games after they slipped a 3-2 victory past Brown on the road. The team averages 2.08 goals per game this season with a 2.28 goal per game conference average. Colgate beat Princeton earlier this season at home with a 3-1 win on tallies by Darcy Murphy, Spiro Goulakos and Tylor Spink.

Senior forward Andrew Ammon leads Princeton in both points and goals with 20 and ten, respectively. The Aldie, Va. native played in 76 games in his first three seasons as a Tiger, accumulating 40 points, with 17 of those tallied in his first season. Ammon put up big numbers last weekend with eight points on two goals and six assists at Brown and Yale. Andrew Calof is the Tigers’ best all around player, but the senior has played in only 15 games, but saw action last weekend and came through with five points on a goal and four assists on the same line with Ammon.

The Tigers have split time between Sean Bonar and Colton Phinney this season. Bonar has played in 15 games with 395 saves this season for a .882 save percentage, but has a 4-12-0 mark with goals against over four. Phinney has played in 13 games this season and is 3-10-0 overall with a high GAA as well. Phinney got the start earlier this year against Colgate and made 29 saves in the loss.

SERIES HISTORY
This is the 102nd meeting between these two schools, dating back to the first contest back in 1935-36. Colgate is holding onto a slim lead at 49-46-6 after Colgate snapped a two-game winning streak for Princeton earlier this year. The Tigers are the fifth team that the Raiders played 100 games against, joining Clarkson, Cornell, St. Lawrence and RPI. The Raiders are 22-26-4 at Hobey Baker Rink and the Tigers have won three in a row at home against Colgate.

SCOUTING THE BOBCATS
Quinnipiac boasts a strong 11-4-3 conference record with a 21-6-5 overall mark in the 2013-2014 season. They sit alone in the second spot in ECAC standings. The Bobcats have won six out of their nine last games and started the season with a nine game winning streak. Quinnipiac has reached the 20-win plateau for the third-straight year. The defense has been impressive, allowing no more than two goals per game and the Bobcats have five shutouts this season.

First-year standout Sam Anas has skated in each of Quinnipiac’s tilts of 2013-2014 and leads the team in goals, tallying 18 in his first collegiate season. He leads all rookies in points and is among the top point-getters overall in the league. Senior Kellen Jones follows in close second, with 16 goals and 21 assists in 32 games played. Twin brother Connor Jones also has reached 30 points with 11 goals and 19 assists.

Sophomores Michael Garteig is the primary goaltender for the Bobcats, logging all but 26 minutes of this season’s playtime in net. He leads the conference with a 1.92 goals against average and has a .910 save percentage. He has five shutouts and is close to 2000 minutes played.

SERIES HISTORY
The series continues to go back-and-forth with the two teams with Quinnipiac leading it by two at 14-12-2 after the Bobcats have won three of the last four. The series started back in 2005-06 and Quinnipiac and Colgate have met 28 times, which is the most for the Raiders against any team since 2005-06. This will be the 10th meeting in the last four years between Quinnipiac and Colgate. The Bobcats came to Starr Rink on Nov. 9and beat the Raiders by a 7-2 score.