by Alex Clark '05

As the end of the 2002-2003 season drew near, Colgate University staff members prepared themselves to begin melting the ice in Starr Rink upon the completion of regular season action. The men's hockey team threw a wrench in the gears of that plan, however, taking seven of their last eight possible points and streaking to the team's first home playoff series in three years.

Midway through the season the Raiders appeared to have fallen off the pace for extending their home schedule into the playoffs. The team's conference record stood at 3-7-2, and reaching eighth place or higher seemed a pipe dream. Dreams quickly became reality, however, as Colgate embarked on an incredible 6-3-1 stretch run that positioned them to host St. Lawrence in the first round of the ECAC playoffs this weekend.

The shotgun blast that kick-started the men's spectacular finish came off the stick of Adam Mitchell. Tied 1-1 with Cornell, the nation's second ranked team and perennial rival, the sophomore's overtime goal in front of an ecstatic home crowd propelled his team to the impressive string of outings that landed them back at Starr Rink where it all began.

Colgate proved throughout the season that the victory against the Big Red was no fluke. The Raiders tied a tough Nebraska-Omaha team and dropped a close 2-1 match against the heavily favored Spartans of Michigan State in its first two games of the season. They also dominated some of the top teams in the MAAC conference, dropping Holy Cross 5-2 and sweeping a weekend series against Sacred Heart.

But two I's plagued the Raiders throughout the year: inconsistency and injuries. The team developed a pattern of following up brilliant outings, such as the 3-0 shutouts of both Brown and Rensselaer, with disappointing showings, including 6-1 and 7-1 losses to Yale and Harvard respectively. And no fewer than 9 men missed action nursing injuries during the year. An awkward hit in Wisconsin dealt the most devastating blow, as junior Paul Kelley was sidelined for the entire season with a knee injury.

To achieve success, Colgate knew it had to speed up the maturation process of its younger players. Freshmen defensemen J.R. Bria and Eric Main found themselves playing in all kinds of pressure situations early on, and first-year forwards Jon Smyth, Ryan Smyth, Zac Tataryn, and Kyle Wilson were expected to fill in key slots and contribute offensively. Even the large sophomore class faced a trial by fire, as players like Joey Mormina, Dmitry Yashin, and Darryl McKinnon fought through long shifts and physical ailments to bring honor to the maroon and grey.

The men assigned to hasten the development of Colgate's young talent were the team's upperclassmen and captains. Assistant captain Rob Brown and captain Stephen Silversides provided leadership in the defensive zone, while junior Kyle Doyle and assistant captain Brad D'Arco showed both the finesse and physicality needed when on the attack.

Then, with one rebound shot, the fresh talent suddenly gelled with the experienced leadership to create a team that proved nearly unstoppable. The sophomore Mitchell fell into a groove and never fell out, recording 11 points in the final ten games of the season. Senior P.J. Yedon rediscovered his offensive flair, tallying awesome breakaway goals in both a shorthanded situation against Union and an overtime thriller with Dartmouth.

Examples of youth and seniority combining forces to generate an all-around squad appear most vividly, however, in the play of sophomore goaltender Steve Silverthorn and senior captain Scooter Smith.

Silverthorn's start between the pipes against Cornell on that fateful night was his first in three weeks, but he made the best of it and never looked back. The Ontario native went 6-2-1 from that point on, posting a .922 save percentage and 2.21 goals against average. The up-and-coming star twice received the honor of ECAC Goalie of the Week, promising Colgate fans sound goaltending throughout the playoffs and years to come.

While Scooter Smith led the team even in its difficult times, the forward absolutely exploded as the Raiders pushed for home ice. Colgate's leading scorer amassed 8 goals and 15 points in the team's final ten regular season games. His 23 goals on the season topped the ECAC chart, and fell only one short of the total points accumulated by the leading scorer on last year's Raider squad. All-in-all, Smith averaged over a point a game during the 2002-2003 regular season, and stands as one of the league's most exciting players entering the playoffs.

With all of its cylinders clicking and its stars shining, the Raiders know that they have what it takes to match up against any team they may face in the post-season. Colgate took care of top seeded Cornell and third seeded Dartmouth, both in stunning 2-1 overtime games at Starr Rink. Perhaps even more impressively, the men stole a game from fourth seeded Yale on the road, an important key to their eighth place finish.

The Raiders were actually six minutes shy of finishing even higher. Princeton's game-tying goal in the final match of the season took one point away from Colgate, a point which would have placed them ahead of Clarkson and Union and in to sixth place.

But excitement and a sense of pride still flow through the both the coaching staff and the players as they enter this weekend series. The team accomplished its goal of bringing playoff hockey back home to Colgate, and hopes to carry the momentum of the last five weeks deep into the tournament.

To advance they will have to take down a formidable opponent in St. Lawrence. These two teams match up pound-for-pound, inch-for-inch, and this season goal-for-goal, as both regular season games ended in ties. The Raiders came back twice in dramatic fashion to even things up with the Saints. Bria’s goal with only three seconds remaining on the clock knotted the game at 3-3 in Canton, NY, while Mitchell added a third period game-tying score of his own here in Hamilton to force a 4-4 draw. But one must give the advantage to the Raiders in this weekend series, as Colgate’s brilliant 11-4-1 record at home cannot be ignored.

While Colgate is happy to be returning to home ice, it hopes that Starr Rink is not the last arena they skate in this season. Whatever may unfold in 2002-2003's second season, Colgate's mesh of young and old expects to make a serious impact.