COLGATE BACK ON THE ROAD WITH GAMES AGAINST VERMONT AND DARTMOUTH

The Series
Friday’s game against Vermont marks the 57th meeting between the two schools with Colgate leading the series by a 31-22-3 margin. The Raiders are 12-10-2 at Gutterson. The last time these two teams met, the Raiders defeated the Catamounts by a 4-1 score at Starr Rink. Junior Scooter Smith scored two goals and classmate P.J. Yedon added a goal and an assist in the win.

Scouting the Catamounts
Vermont is on a six game losing skid and has lost 12 of its last 13 games heading into Friday night’s contest. The Catamounts one win during that time span was a 2-0 shutout over Clarkson at Gutterson on January 19. Vermont’s other wins this season have been over Harvard (5-1, Nov. 9) and Dartmouth (3-2, Dec. 1).

A pair of sophomore forwards lead the scoring attack as Patrick Sharp has 11 goals and nine assists to his credit and Jeff Miles has five goals and 15 assists in 25 games.

Two juniors are next in the scoring column as John Longo (Brad D’Arco’s roommate at Taft) has seven goals and seven assists and Bryson Busniuk has four goals and 10 assists.

Sharp and Longo both have four power-play goals to their credit.

Junior goaltender Shawn Conschafter has logged most of the playing time in between the pipes with a 3-17-2 record and a 4.04 goals against average and .887 save percentage.

Vermont is 17/115 (14.8%) on the power play 

and 75/106 (70.8%) on the penalty kill. The Catamounts have scored the most goals in the third period (20) while also allowing the most goals in the same stanza (47).

All of Vermont’s home games are broadcast on a tape-delayed basis following each game on The Adelphia Channel, Channel 74. Friday games are re-broadcast at 11 p.m. that night and also at 7 p.m. Saturday.

Did You Know?
The Raiders are 6-2-2 in the last 10 games, compared to 3-7 in the first 10 games.

The Last Time Out
P.J. Yedon scored two goals including the game-tying goal at 16:25 in the third period as the Colgate men’s hockey team rallied from a 3-1 third period deficit to force a 3-3 tie against Princeton Saturday night at Starr Rink.

The Comeback Kids
Both of Colgate’s games last weekend were come-from-behind affairs as the Raiders were down 2-1 against Yale before scoring two-straight third period goals to win the game. Saturday night was much of the same as the Raiders were down 3-1 heading into the third period and scored two goals to tie the game at 3-3 and force overtime.

A Fresh Start
Colgate is 8-3-2 since returning from Christmas break, including a 5-0-2 record in the last seven games.

A Fine Line, Plus One
Senior Ben Bryce has recorded one point in four of the last six games and the line of juniors Brad D’Arco and P.J. Yedon and freshman Dmitry Yashin has combined for 18 points in the last four games. Yedon has scored eight points in three of the last four games, including three points against Canisius and Princeton. D’Arco is on a three-game point scoring streak and Yashin has scored five points in three of the last four games.

He Shows He Cann
Sophomore goaltender David Cann continued his strong play since Christmas as he recorded his fourth straight win in the 3-2 win over Yale and his second tie in the 3-3 overtime draw with Princeton the following night. Cann is now 8-2-2 in the last 12 games.

Home Sweet Home
The Raiders just finished their longest homestand of the season with five games in nine days where the Raiders compiled a 4-0-1 record. Colgate sports a 8-5-1 record at Starr Rink this season, including two series sweeps with wins over Dartmouth (3-2), Vermont (4-1), Brown (2-1) and Harvard (5-3).

Up Next
Colgate will travel to Dartmouth on Saturday for a 7 p.m. contest. The Raiders lead the all-time series between the two schools by a 32-26-2 margin and also lead the series 13-11 at Thompson Arena. The last time these two teams met, the Raiders defeated the Big Green by a 3-2 score at Starr Rink.