This Week
Tuesday, November 24- vs. Syracuse, 7 p.m.
Friday, November 27- at Mercyhurst, 7 p.m.
Saturday, November 28 – at Mercyhurst, 2 p.m.
The Raiders will host nearby Syracuse University for a weekday game before traveling to Erie, Pa. for a non-conference match-up against the top-ranked Mercyhurst Lakers. The Orange will make the short drive to Hamilton on Tuesday, Nov. 24 for a 7 p.m. meeting. Colgate will then face Mercyhurst twice over the weekend, with match-ups on Friday, Nov. 27 and Saturday, Nov. 28. The Raiders will play at 7 p.m. on Friday and 2 p.m. on Saturday.
Scouting the Opposition
Syracuse– The Orange, of the College Hockey America (CHA) conference, are in their second season as a Division I hockey program. Syracuse returned all but five letter-winners from the 2008-09 season, which they finished with a 9-16-3 overall record and 2-11-3 mark in the league. The Orange are currently sporting a 6-5-1 overall record and are 3-1-0 in the conference after picking up a pair of wins at Robert Morris this past weekend. Stefanie Marty is atop the Syracuse scoring chart with 13 points from five goals and eight assists. Three other players have scored five goals for the Orange with Julie Rising adding seven assists for 12 points, followed by Isabel Menard with an addition six assists for 11 points and Janelle Malcolm with three assists for eight points. Lucy Shoedel is back between the posts this season, holding a 6-5-1 record with a .915 save percentage and 2.31 goals against average.
Mercyhurst– The Lakers are ranked as the top team for the eighth-straight week as they continued their unbeaten streak to four games. Mercyhurst defeated Niagara 2-0 this past Saturday a day after they tied the Purple Hawks, 2-2. The Lakers’ only loss so far this season came to Minnesota Duluth, 4-3, back on Oct. 21. Vicki Bendus and Jesse Scanzano currently lead the Mercyhurst offense with 18 points apiece, both with seven goals and 11 assists. Jess Jones follows with 16 points from six goals and 10 assists while Bailey Bram leads the Lakers in goals scored with 10. In the net, Hillary Pattenden holds a .937 save percentage and 1.33 goals against average with a record of 10-1-1, including one shutout.
Last Time Out
The Raiders skated to a 1-1 tie against Quinnipiac this last Friday before dropping a close game against the No. 10 Princeton Tigers, 3-2. Freshman Brittany Phillips (Lauder, Man.) picked up a goal and an assist over the weekend, scoring the Raiders lone goal against the Bobcats. Sophomore goaltender Kimberly Sass (Exeter, Ont.) made 28 stops in the tie. On Saturday, Amanda Kirwan (Mississauga, Ont.) and Katie Stewart (Exeter, Ont.) each tallied a goal, with Hannah Milan picking up assists on each. Lisa Plenderleith (Ajax, Ont.) had 25 saves in the Raiders’ loss.
Last Time Against…
Syracuse – Colgate defeated the Orange, 4-3, in Syracuse’s inaugural game last season, on Oct. 1. Katie Stewart led the Raiders scoring with a goal and assist. Evan Minnick (Highlands Ranch, Colo.), Hannah Milan (Great Barrington, Mass.) and Sam Hunt each added a goal in the Colgate victory. Elayna Hamashuk and Lisa Plenderleith recorded eight saves apiece for the Raiders with Hamashuk earning the win. Orange goalie Lucy Schoedel recorded 34 saves. Colgate is 1-0 against Syracuse after winning their first-ever match-up last season.
Mercyhurst – The Raiders split last year’s series against the Lakers, winning the first game at Starr rink 4-3, before dropping the next by the same score, 4-3. Hannah Milan had one goal and three assists between the two games, while Katie Stewart picked up one goal and two assists. Marissa Dombovy (Webster, N.Y.) also collected a goal in the Raiders win, while Jessi Waters (Menlo Park, Calif.) and Evan Minnick recorded one assist apiece. Ali Edell (Mountain Lakes, N.J.) had one assist in second game while then senior Elin Brown picked up two of Colgate’s three goals. Kimberly Sass made a game-high 34 saves for the victory against the Lakers, with Lisa Plenderleith making 32 stops in the following game. The Lakers currently hold a 12-2-2 lead in the all-time series.
Leading the Way
Katie Stewart leads the way for the Raiders in scoring with 11 points off of six goals and five assists. Rookie Brittany Phillips is tied with Stewart for the most goals on the squad with six, and has an additional two assists for a total of eight points. Two other players have eight points for Colgate, Jessi Waters, who has two goals and six assists, and Evan Minnick, who has four goals and four assists. Goaltenders Lisa Plenderleith and Kimberly Sass have split time between the posts this season. Plenderleith holds a 1-5-1 record along with a .897 save percentage and 2.91 goals against average, along with one shutout victory. Sass is 1-4-2 on the season with a .876 save percentage and a 3.76 goals against average.
Preseason Picks
The Raiders were selected to finish eighth in the ECAC Hockey Preseason Poll as chosen by conference coaches. The Raiders received a total of 52 votes, while top-choice St. Lawrence grabbed the No. 1 spot with 107 votes including three first place votes.
Coach Wiley
Head coach Scott Wiley enters his eighth season at the helm of the Raiders. He currently holds a Colgate career record of 104-118-27. Wiley led last year’s team to a school record 19 wins, including an eight-game unbeaten streak in January. The 2003-04 ECAC Coach of the Year has high hopes for this year’s team and will look to make this eighth straight ECAC playoff appearance.
Up Next
The Raiders will pick back up with their ECAC schedule on Friday, Dec. 4 and Saturday Dec. 5 when they host Brown and Yale Universities. Colgate will take on Brown at 7 p.m. on Friday, followed by Yale at 4 p.m. on Saturday.