RED RAIDERS IN THE PROS: FORMER COLGATE HOCKEY LEADER ANDY MCDONALD TALKS ABOUT HIS EXPERIENCES PLAYING IN THE AHL

October 25, 2000

by Michele Kelley, Athletic Communications Student Assistant

It’s a chilly, rainy, mid-October night, quite a contrast from a warm spring evening in early-April. However, the venue was the same in Albany’s Pepsi Arena, but so many other things were different.

The arena had less than 2,000 people in it, instead of a near capacity crowd and Andy McDonald’s number 10 jersey was in purple and teal rather than the familiar Colgate maroon and white.

This contest at the home of the Albany River Rats was McDonald’s third game with the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks.  He was sent to Cincinnati of the American Hockey League from Anaheim, the Ducks’ NHL franchise, during the final weeks of training camp in September.   

The game marked McDonald's first return to Pepsi Arena since a heartbreaking loss in last year’s NCAA East Regional first round game against Michigan.  After a victory against the River Rats, McDonald reminisced about last year’s finish. 

“It was kind of a good way to finish our year," McDonald said. "We played a strong game and came up short, but it’s kind of a weird feeling to be back here.”

In April, McDonald and the rest of the Red Raider squad skated onto the ice for the tournament game to a rousing reception from a very conspicuous Colgate crowd.  McDonald described this scene as one of his most memorable moments while playing for Colgate. 

  “When we stepped out onto the ice there at the beginning of the game and looked up and to have all our fans there, [it was really incredible],” McDonald added.

However, this game had just a handful of Colgate fans in the crowd, but the small group was a vocal presence cheering loudly every time McDonald took the ice.  While the support was diminished for the Strathroy, Ontario native, the game was different as well.  While with the Red Raiders, McDonald had a way of shining on the ice and made the players around him play better when he was on the ice.

Playing at the higher level of hockey in the AHL has taken away some of McDonald’s sparkle on the ice, but there was little doubt this was the McDonald that Colgate fans had come to know over his four years in Hamilton.  

He still dominated in the face-off circle, winning nine of the 12 face-offs opportunities.  McDonald’s tutelage under Colgate head coach Don Vaughan, a special teams expert, has made him a presence on Cincinnati’s penalty-killing and power-play units.  He saw action on 4-of-9 Cincinnati power-play chances, while he was on the ice for five of the Ducks' seven penalty-kills helping shutout the River Rats who finished 0-for-7 on the power-play.

McDonald's incredible speed on the ice continues to impress teams and fans in the AHL avoiding nearly every opponent check.  His quickness also made life difficult for any River Rat attempting to create a scoring opportunity.

Although he did not put any points on the board in this game, McDonald has lit the lamp twice for the Mighty Ducks.  The first-year pro player had a significant impact in his first appearance with Cincinnati with two goals including the game-winner in the Ducks 3-1 season opening victory against the Kentucky Thoroughblades on Oct. 7.  He scored the eventual game-winning goal with a shorthanded tally at 8:35 mark of the first period giving the Ducks a 2-0 advantage and then scored an unassisted power-play marker in the third.

For now, McDonald is biding his time in the AHL, waiting to be called back to sunny California for his chance to play with the NHL Mighty Ducks.  

“It was disappointing to get sent down here, but it was also a good learning experience for me," McDonald said. "I know what I need to work on in order to improve to go back [to Anaheim] and I’ll just keep working one day at time here trying to improve each day.”