By Scott Kinville/315 Hockey.
It’s déjà Vu for the Colgate Raiders Men’s Hockey Team.
One year ago, the Raiders finished the regular season in fifth place in the ECAC. They defeated the twelfth seed in the conference tournament first round (albeit a two-game sweep as opposed to this season’s one-game playoff). In the Quarterfinals, Colgate defeated the ECAC fourth seed, just like they did last weekend. Now, as the conference’s fifth seed once again, they will face the ECAC’s number one seed in the tournament Semifinals at the Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid, NY.
Their opponent on Friday afternoon is the same opponent they faced in the 2022 ECAC Tournament – the Quinnipiac Bobcats.
Like last season, the Raiders enter the Semifinal game unranked in the national polls while the Bobcats rank in the top ten (they are ranked second this season and were number seven last season). In 2021-22, Quinnipiac defeated Colgate in both regular season games they played as well as the ECAC Semifinal game. This, however, is where the similarities end.
This season, despite Quinnipiac’s lofty poll standing, the Raiders and Bobcats split the pair of games they played. On November 4th, Colgate took a 2-1 lead into the third period at Hamden, Connecticut before ultimately losing to the then sixth-ranked Bobcats 3-2 in regulation. Then on January 21st in front of a packed house at the Class of 1965 Arena, the Raiders pulled off one of the biggest wins in program history when they defeated the number one ranked (at the time) Bobcats 3-2.
Ticket information for the ECAC Men’s Tournament Championships: Men’s Hockey Lake Placid Ticket Information.
The now second-ranked Bobcats boast a very formidable lineup. They have one of the best goaltenders in the country in Yaniv Perets, who has a record of 30-3-3 with a 1.52 GAA, a 0.927 save percentage, and nine shutouts. One of Division I’s premier forwards plays for the Bobcats as well in Collin Graf, who has twenty goals and thirty-four assists this season. Both Perets and Graf have been named finalists for the Hobey baker Award which is given annually to the best player in Men’s Division I hockey.
Although unranked in the national polls, the Raiders don’t lack for prolific players. They too, have a twenty goal-scorer in Alex Young and have been named to the First Team All ECAC. Goaltender Carter Gylander has been a workhorse for Head Coach Don Vaughan’s team, as he is second in Division I in minutes played at 2,193:30 and has recorded a 0.915 save percentage in that time.
Both the Colgate Raiders and Quinnipiac Bobcats are seeking the second ECAC Championships in their program’s histories. Let’s take a look at how the teams match up against each other.
Colgate Raiders Team Records
- Overall Record: 17-15-5.
- ECAC Record: 11-8-3.
- Neutral Site Record: 0-0-0.
- National Rank: Unranked.
- ECAC Tournament Seed: #5.
- Goal Differential: +12.
- Head Coach: Don Vaughan.
Quinnipiac Bobcats Team Records
- Overall Record: 30-3-3.
- ECAC Record: 20-2-0.
- Neutral Site Record: 1-0-1.
- National Rank: #2.
- ECAC Tournament Seed: #1.
- Goal Differential: +87.
- Head Coach: Rand Pecknold.
Colgate Raiders Team Offense
- Goals For: 107.
- Goals Per Game: 2.9 (tied for 28th in Division I).
- Shots: 1,072.
- Shots Per Game: 29.0.
- Power Play: 21.7% (33 for 152 – 21st in Division I).
Quinnipiac Bobcats Team Offense
- Goals For: 144.
- Goals Per Game: 4.0 (tied for 2nd in Division I).
- Shots: 1,171.
- Shots Per Game: 32.5.
- Power Play: 24.1% (35 for 145 – tied for 14th in Division I).
Colgate Raiders Top Five Scorers + Individual Leaders
1.) Alex Young: 20 goals + 17 assists = 37 points. Young is tied for 6th in Division I in goals and tied for 14th in points.
2.) Matt Verboon: 16 goals + 18 assists = 34 points. Verboon is tied for 10th in Division I in goals and tied for 17th in points.
3.) Nick Anderson: 3 goals + 25 assists = 28 points. Anderson is tied for 11th in Division I in assists.
4.) Colton Young: 10 goals + 16 assists = 26 points.
5.) Ross Mitton: 8 goals + 18 assists = 26 points.
- Shots Leader: Colton Young with 134.
- Power Play Goals Leader: Alex Young with nine. Young is tied for 4th in Division I in power-play goals.
- Game Winning Goals Leaders: Alex Young and Colton Young with three each.
- +/- Leader: Anthony Stark at +8.
Quinnipiac Bobcats Top Five Scorers + Individual Leaders
1.) Collin Graf: 20 goals + 34 assists = 54 points. Graf is 2nd in Division I in points and assists and tied for 6th in goals.
2.) Ethan de Jong: 17 goals + 19 assists = 36 points. de Jong is tied for 9th in Division I in goals and tied for 15th in points.
3.) Sam Lipkin: 12 goals + 23 assists = 35 points. Lipkin is tied for 13th in Division I in assists and tied for 16th in points.
4.) Jacob Quillan: 14 goals + 17 assists = 31 points.
5.) Skyler Brind’Amour (13 goals + 18 assists) and Zach Metsa (8 goals + 23 assists) = 31 points each.
- Shots Leader: Collin Graf with 99.
- Power Play Goals Leader: Collin Graf with eight. Graf is tied for 5th in Division I in power-play goals.
- Game Winning Goals Leaders: Ethan de Jong and Jacob Quillan with five each.
- +/- Leader: Jacob Quillan at +33.
Colgate Raiders Team Defense
- Goals Against: 95.
- Goals Against Per Game: 2.6 (18th in Division I).
- Shots Allowed: 1,051.
- Shots Allowed Per Game: 28.4.
- Penalty Kill: 84.3% (102 for 121 – 11th in Division I).
- Shorthanded Goals Scored: four. Colton Young has two shorthanded goals which tie him for 3rd in Division I.
Quinnipiac Bobcats Team Defense
- Goals Against: 57.
- Goals Against Per Game: 1.6 (1st in Division I).
- Shots Allowed: 751.
- Shots Allowed Per Game: 20.9.
- Penalty Kill: 84.5% (82 for 97 – 8th in Division I).
- Shorthanded Goals Scored: two. Ethan de Jong has both which tie him for 3rd in Division I.
Colgate Raiders Goaltenders
- Carter Gylander: Record: 17-14-5 / GAA: 2.38 / Save Percentage: 0.915 / Saves: 937 / Shutouts: 2. Gylander is 2nd in Division I in minutes played, tied for 7th in shutouts, tied for 14th in save percentage, and 23rd in GAA.
- Andrew Takacs: Record: 0-1-0 / GAA: 2.67 / Save Percentage: 0.864 / Saves: 19 / Shutouts: 0.
- Nick Haas: No Statistics.
Quinnipiac Bobcats Goaltenders
- Yaniv Perets: Record: 30-3-3 / GAA: 1.52 / Save Percentage: 0.927 / Saves: 671 / Shutouts: 9. Perets is 1st in Division I in GAA, 2nd in shutouts, 4th in save percentage, and 10th in minutes played.
- Chase Clark: Record: 0-0-0 / GAA: 3.06 / Save Percentage: 0.840 / Saves: 21 / Shutouts: 0.
- Noah Altman: Record: 0-0-0 / GAA: 0.00 / Save Percentage: 1.000 / Saves: 2 / Shutouts: 0.
Friday’s ECAC Semifinals matchup between the Raiders and the Bobcats at the 1980 Rink of the Herb Brooks Arena is scheduled to begin at 4:02 pm EDT. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+. For more information about Colgate Raiders hockey, visit https://colgateathletics.com.
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