By Scott Kinville/315 Hockey.
The postseason begins on Friday night for the Colgate Raiders Men’s Hockey Team as they host the Dartmouth Big Green in a one-game-only ECAC First Round Tournament game at the Class of 1965 Arena. The Raiders and Big Green have met twice already this season, with the Raiders winning both matchups. On December 2nd, Colgate defeated Dartmouth 5-1 at the Class of 1965 Arena and on January 28th, Alex Young scored the game-winning goal in overtime to lead Colgate to a 4-3 victory in Hanover, New Hampshire.
The Raiders closed their regular season on a rollercoaster ride. They went 1-1-3 in their last five games and won the shootout in all three of those ties. They were in the mix for the fourth seed in the ECAC Tournament all the way through February, but were overtaken by the St. Lawrence Saints on the final night of the regular season and had to settle for the fifth seed. The fourth seed would have given them a bye into the Quarterfinals. Colgate still finished with a winning ECAC record, going 11-8-3 in the regular season.
The Colgate Raiders are led by a pair of players who are NHL draft picks. Junior forward Alex Young paces the offense for the Raiders, leading the team in goals, points, power-play goals, and game-winning goals. Young was selected in the seventh round of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft by the San Jose Sharks.
In net, Carter Gylander has been a workhorse for Head Coach Don Vaughan’s Raiders. He has started thirty-three of Colgate’s thirty-four games this season and is second in the nation in minutes played. His record is 14-14-5 this season, but his play has been a big part of the Raider’s success this season – including Colgate’s upset of then-number-one Quinnipiac on January 21st. Gylander is a seventh-round pick of the Detroit Red Wings in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.
The Dartmouth Big Green has struggled this season. They enter this game with a 5-23-1 overall record and are the twelfth seed in the twelve-team ECAC Tournament. While they are struggling on offense (they have scored two goals total in their last four games), they do have a bright spot in their stellar penalty-killing units. They have killed 91 of 106 of their opponent’s power plays for a success rate of 85.8% – which is the fourth best in Division I.
The Big Green offense is led by senior defenseman Tanner Palocsik, who has four goals and seventeen assists for twenty-one points. Like Colgate, Dartmouth has a workhorse goaltender as well. Cooper Black has played in all thirty-three of Dartmouth’s games and has a record of 5-22-1, but three of those five wins are shutouts.
It’s very simple for both teams in Friday night’s contest – win and advance to the best of three Quarterfinals of the ECAC Tournament, with the loser ending their season. Let’s take a look at how the Colgate Raiders and Dartmouth Big Green match up against each other.
Colgate Raiders Team Records
- Overall Record: 14-15-5.
- ECAC Record: 11-8-3.
- Goal Differential: +8.
- Head Coach: Don Vaughan.
Dartmouth Big Green Team Records
- Overall Record: 5-23-1.
- ECAC Record: 4-17-1.
- Goal Differential: -40.
- Head Coach: Reid Cashman.
Colgate Raiders Team Offense
- Goals For: 95.
- Goals Per Game: 2.8 (tied for 31st in Division I).
- Shots: 996.
- Shots Per Game: 29.3.
- Power Play: 21.4% (30 for 140 – 25th in Division I).
Dartmouth Big Green Team Offense
- Goals For: 61.
- Goals Per Game: 2.1.
- Shots: 655.
- Shots Per Game: 22.6.
- Power Play: 17.4% (16 for 92 – 42nd in Division I).
Colgate Raiders Top Five Scorers + Individual Leaders
1.) Alex Young: 19 goals + 17 assists = 36 points. Young is tied for 10th in Division I in goals and tied for 17th in points.
2.) Matt Verboon: 14 goals + 17 assists = 31 points.
3.) Ross Mitton: 8 goals + 17 assists = 25 points.
4.) Nick Anderson: 3 goals + 22 assists = 25 points.
5.) Alex DiPaolo: 9 goals + 14 assists = 23 points.
- Shots Leader: Colton Young with 128.
- Power Play Goals Leader: Alex Young with nine. Young is 2nd in Division I in power-play goals.
- Game Winning Goals Leader: Alex Young with three.
- +/- Leader: Anthony Stark at +7.
Dartmouth Big Green Top Five Scorers + Individual Leaders
1.) Tanner Palocsik: 4 goals + 17 assists = 21 points.
2.) Braiden Dorfman: 7 goals + 9 assists = 16 points.
3.) Luke Haymes: 10 goals + 5 assists = 15 points.
4.) Matt Hubbarde: 5 goals + 10 assists = 15 points.
5.) Cooper Flinton: 6 goals + 8 assists = 14 points.
- Shots Leader: Tanner Palocsik with 71.
- Power Play Goals Leader: Luke Haymes with four.
- Game Winning Goals Leader: Luke Haymes with two.
- +/- Leader: Tyler Campbell at +2.
Colgate Raiders Team Defense
- Goals Against: 87.
- Goals Against Per Game: 2.6 (tied for 19th in Division I).
- Shots Allowed: 963.
- Shots Allowed Per Game: 28.3.
- Penalty Kill: 84.2% (96 for 114 – 10th in Division I).
- Shorthanded Goals Scored: 3
Dartmouth Big Green Team Defense
- Goals Against: 101.
- Goals Against Per Game: 3.5.
- Shots Allowed: 895.
- Shots Allowed Per Game: 30.9.
- Penalty Kill: 85.8% (91 for 106 – 4th in Division I).
- Shorthanded Goals Scored: 1
Colgate Raiders Goaltending
- Carter Gylander: Record: 14-14-5 / GAA: 2.37 / Save Percentage: 0.916 / Saves: 857 / Shutouts: 2. Gylander is 2nd in Division I in minutes played, tied for 20th in save percentage, and tied for 23rd in GAA and shutouts.
- Andrew Takacs: Record: 0-1-0 / GAA: 2.67 / Save Percentage: 0.864 / Saves: 19 / Shutouts: 0.
- Nick Haas: No Statistics.
Dartmouth Big Green Goaltending
- Cooper Black: Record: 5-22-1 / GAA: 2.99 / Save Percentage: 0.902 / Saves: 775 / Shutouts: 3. Black is tied for 15th in Division I in shutouts and 25th in minutes played.
- Mikey Roberts: Record: 0-1-0 / GAA: 8.05 / Save Percentage: 0.762 / Saves: 16 / Shutouts: 0.
- Troy Burkhart: No Statistics.
Friday night’s game at the Class of 1965 Arena in Hamilton, NY is scheduled to begin at 7 pm EST and will be streamed on ESPN+. For more information about Colgate Raiders hockey, visit https://colgateathletics.com.
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