Games 20: Colgate (12-4-2, 6-2-0 ECAC) at Ferris State (11-8-1, 7-6-1 CCHA)
Dates: Fri., Jan. 6
Time: 7:05 p.m.
Site: Ewigleben Ice Arena; Big Rapids, Mich.
Radio: 93.9 FM WKXZ
Internet Broadcast: TEAMLINE (http://www.teamline.cc), 94 KXZ (http://www.wkxzfm.com)
Internet Video: http://www.ferrisstatebulldogs.com (Pay-to-watch)
Live Stats: http://www.ferrisstatebulldogs.com
Game 21: Colgate (12-4-2, 6-2-0 ECAC) at Ferris State (11-8-1, 7-6-1 CCHA)
Dates: Sat., Jan. 7
Time: 4:05 p.m.
Site: Ewigleben Ice Arena; Big Rapids, Mich.
Radio: None
Internet Broadcast: TEAMLINE (http://www.teamline.cc)
Internet Video: http://www.ferrisstatebulldogs.com
Live Stats: http://www.ferrisstatebulldogs.com
Opponent: Ferris State University
Nickname: Bulldogs
Location: Big Rapids, Mich.
Conference: Central Collegiate Hockey Association
2010-2011 Record: 18-16-5 (12-12-4 CCHA)
League Finish: Fifth of 11 teams
Playoffs: Defeated by Western Michigan, two games to one, in the CCHA Quarterfinals
2011-2012 Preseason Rank: Seventh of 11 teams (Media), Ninth of 11 teams (Coaches)
Head Coach: Bob Daniels (Michigan State 1982)
Experience: 20th season at Ferris State
Record: 319-358-75 through 20 seasons
Assistant Coaches: Drew Famulak, Mark Kaufman
**Did You Know: Both Bob Daniels and Don Vaughan are members of the NCAA Division I 300-win club. Vaughan has won 308 games in 19 seasons at Colgate while Daniels has amassed 11 more victories in 20 seasons. Both Daniels and Vaughan have been at their respective schools as the head coach since the early 1990s.
All-Time Series: 4-4-1 Tied (Nine games)
Home: 2-2-0 Tied
Road: 2-2-0 Tied
Neutral: 0-0-1 Tied
First Meeting: Colgate 4 Ferris State 1 (Dec. 10, 1999; Starr Rink; Hamilton, N.Y.)
Last Meeting: Colgate 3 Ferris State 3 OT (Jan. 3, 2009; Gutterson Fieldhouse; Burlington, Vt.)
Last Colgate Win: Oct. 9, 2004 (Colgate 4-2; Ewigleben Ice Arena; Big Rapids, Mich.)
Last Ferris State Win: Oct. 18, 2003 (Ferris 3-1; Starr Rink; Hamilton, N.Y.)
SERIES NOTES
*Colgate is making just its third trip to Big Rapids to meet Ferris State at Ewigleben Ice Arena. The Raiders traveled to Big Rapids in Nov. 2000 and Oct. 2004. Meanwhile Ferris State made trips to Hamilton’s Starr Rink in Dec. 1999 and Jan. 2003.
*The last meeting between the Raiders and Bulldogs came at the 2009 Catamount Cup in Burlington, Vt. It is the only neutral site meeting between the two schools. Given the 4-4-0 series tie entering into the game, it was only appropriate that the game end in a 3-3 overtime draw. Ferris State however did win the shootout to finish third in the tournament.
*Current Colgate assistant coach Jason Lefevre was the starting goaltender for the Raiders in their first trip to Big Rapids in Oct. 2000. Lefevre played in three games against the Bulldogs in his career and accumulated an 0-3 record between 1999-2000 and 2000-2001. He made at least 20 saves in all three games he played in against FSU.
*Andy McDonald played two games against Ferris in 1999-2000. He had a goal and an assist against the Bulldogs. McDonald scored in Colgate’s 4-1 win in the first-ever meeting between the two schools. Chris Kunitz played in four career games against the Raiders. He did not record a point as a true freshman in 1999-2000. The following season, Kunitz registered two goals and a helper in a sweep of Colgate at Ewigleben Ice Arena.
*The Raiders are 2-0-1 against Ferris in the last three meetings between the two schools. FSU hasn’t beaten CU since Oct. 18, 2003. The Crimson and Gold hasn’t defeated Colgate in Big Rapids since 2000.
*In eight of the nine games between the Raiders and Bulldogs, the winning team has scored at least three goals.
*Colgate and Ferris State have never played an overtime game at an on-campus site. Only three of the previous nine games have been decided by one goal or less.
Last Game – Colgate 3 Ferris State 3 OT (Jan. 3, 2009; Gutterson Fieldhouse; Burlington, Vt.)
Event: 2009 Catamount Cup; University of Vermont
**Ferris State won a best-of-three shootout to claim third place in the tournament
Colgate Goals: David McIntyre (Peter Bogdanich, Austin Smith); David McIntyre (Francois Brisebois, Jason Williams); Francois Brisebois (Jason Williams, Nick St. Pierre)
Scoring By Period: Colgate 2-1-0-0, Ferris State 2-1-0-0
Shots: Colgate 35-34; Colgate 24-17 over the final two regulation periods
Power Play: Colgate 2-for-9, Ferris State 3-for-9
Goalies: Alex Evin (Colgate) 31 saves on 34 shots, Pat Nagle (Ferris) 32 saves on 35 shots
*SCORING AGAINST OPPONENT
Colgate
Austin Smith (Sr. F) 0-1-1
Alex Evin (Sr. G) 0-0-1, 2.77 GAA, .912 SV % (31/34, 65:00)
Ferris State
Derek Graham (Sr. D) 1-0-1
Ferris State– Leading Scorers (Current)
Jordie Johnston (Sr. F) 8-6-14
Travis Ouellette (Jr. F) 7-7-14
Kyle Bonis (Jr. F) 9-3-12
Chad Bilins (Sr. D) 1-11-12
Matthew Kirzinger (Jr. F) 3-8-11
Eric Alexander (Jr. F) 3-5-8
Brett Wysopal (Sr. D) 2-6-8
*Taylor Nelson (Sr. G) 7-4-0, 2.01 GAA, .927 SV %
*C.J. Motte (Fr. G) 4-4-1, 1.99 GAA, .925 SV %
Ferris State – Top Returning Players (2010-11 Numbers*)
Travis Ouelette (Jr. F) 10-11-21
Matthew Kirzinger (Jr. F) 7-9-16
Chad Billins (Sr. D) 5-11-16, Career: 106 games
Brett Wysopal (Sr. D) 2-12-14, Career: 99 games
Kyle Bonis (Jr. F) 7-6-13
Jordie Johnston (Sr. F) 6-7-13
Eric Alexander (Jr. F) 5-8-13
*Career numbers do not include numbers from this year
Ferris State – Key Losses
Zach Redmond (D) 7-13-20, Career: 141 games, 90 points
Mike Fillinger (F) 9-9-18, Career: 108 games
Mike Embach (F) 8-10-18, Career: 132 games
Scott Wietecha (D) 2-12-14, Career: 126 games
Justin Menke (F) 0-7-7, Career: 137 games
Pat Nagle (G) 18-14-5, 2.02 GAA, .923 SV %, Career: 45-42-11, 2.32 GAA, .916 SV %
Ferris State - Key Additions
C.J. Motte (G) USHL Waterloo, All-NAHL North Division (Traverse City)
Travis White (D), NAHL Traverse City, All-NAHL North Division (x3)
Justin Buzzeo (F), SJHL Humboldt, 135 points, 105 games
Connections
*Colgate’s Andy McDonald and Chris Kunitz of Ferris State won a Stanley Cup together with the National Hockey League’s Anaheim Ducks in 2006-07.
*Cory Kane of Ferris State and Colgate’s Mike Leidl were teammates in the British Columbia Hockey League with the RBC Cup champion Vernon Vipers in 2008-2009.
Fast Facts – Ferris State
*Ferris State University was founded in 1884 as the Big Rapids Industrial School. The school is now named after its founder, Woodbridge Nathaniel Ferris. Ferris was born in Tioga, N.Y. and he taught in nearby Spencer.
*The school is located in Big Rapids, Mich. which is around one hour north of Grand Rapids on the western side of the state. It is four hours from Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. which is where Lake Superior State University is located.
*Ferris State primarily competes at the NCAA Division II level in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC). The men’s ice hockey team is the only Division I program at the school. There is no women’s hockey team.
*The hockey program was founded in 1975 and joined the CCHA as an affiliate member. The program made the move to Division I as a full-time member in 1979 and it joined the CCHA as a full-time member the same year.
*The hockey program has made just one appearance in the NCAA tournament (2002-2003). FSU won a school-record 31 games in 2002-2003 and advanced to the CCHA Super Six at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. The Bulldogs made the NCAA tournament as an at-large selection and made it to the regional finals.
Loose Pucks – Ferris State
*The Bulldogs started the season 8-2-0 with sweeps of Saint Lawrence, RPI, Miami (Ohio) and Bowing Green. Since then, Ferris State is 3-6-1. The Bulldogs have not won back-to-back games since the beginning of November.
*Most recently, Ferris has dropped three games in a row including two last weekend at Vermont’s Catamount Cup. RIT shut out Ferris, 3-0, and then the host Catamounts doubled up the Bulldogs at 4-2. Ferris closed the first half of the season with a 4-1 loss at Notre Dame.
*Losing trend aside, FSU has been dominant at Ewigleben Ice Arena. In eight home games, the Crimson and Gold is 6-1-1. Ferris has outscored opponents 27-9. Ferris has recorded home sweeps of RPI and Miami (Ohio). The Bulldogs potted a three-point weekend (win, tie) against Lake Superior State and split with Western Michigan. In home wins, Ferris has allowed no more than two goals.
*The two-headed goalie monster of Taylor Nelson and C.J. Motte is among the best in the country. Nelson, a senior, usually starts on Friday and Motte, a freshman, is the man in between the pipes on Saturday. Nelson and Motte are both ranked among the top 15 nationally in goals against (1.99, 9th – Motte/2.01, 11th - Nelson) and save percentage (.927, 10th - Nelson.925, 13th - Motte).
*C.J. Motte allowed just one goal in the first three starts of his career. He earned back-to-back home shutouts over Rensselaer and Miami (Ohio).
*When scoring three or more goals, Ferris is 9-0-0. In eight of those nine games, FSU has scored at least four times. However, when scoring two or fewer goals, the Bulldogs are 2-8-1. The two low-scoring wins (both 2-0) were early in the season against RPI and Miami in back-to-back weeks.
*FSU is among the top teams in the nation of terms of scoring defense. The ‘Dawgs are fifth in the nation allowing just 2.10 goals per game. Ahead of Ferris are Merrimack, Union, Cornell and Minnesota. Colgate is eighth in scoring defense. However, the Bulldogs have allowed 11 goals in their last three games and at least four in their last five losses.
*Scoring wise, Ferris has struggled at points this season though 15 players overall have scored goals and 21 have at least one point including goaltender Taylor Nelson. FSU has been shut out four times this season. Since a 14-goal outburst over three games (11/4 – 11/11), Ferris has scored just 13 goals in the last nine games. Last weekend, the Bulldogs had just two goals, both against Vermont.
*In recent years, FSU has had a reputation as a much-penalized team. The ‘Dawgs are again among the national leaders in penalty minutes per game. FSU has been called for 375 minutes worth of penalties which averages out to 18.8 minutes per contest. Ferris is sixth in the nation in penalty minutes per game, one spot ahead of Miami (Ohio) and one spot behind Clarkson. Earlier this season, a game between Ferris and Miami accounted for 22 combined penalties, 88 penalty minutes, four five-minute majors, three game misconducts and one game disqualification.
*The Bulldogs are not a team that throws a high volume of shots on the net. Through 20 games, FSU is averaging 26.1 shots per game. The Bulldogs have not surpassed the 30-shot plateau since mid-November against Lake Superior State. Ferris tabulated 49-combined shots at last weekend’s Catamount Cup and that included just 23 against Rochester Tech.
*Offensively, Ferris State is led by senior Jordie Johnston, junior Travis Ouellette and junior Kyle Bonis. Johnston and Ouellette each have a team-high 14 points while Bonis leads the club with nine goals. Eleven Bulldogs have scored multiple goals this season.
Loose Pucks – Colgate
*The Raiders enter into the weekend on a seven-game unbeaten streak. We previously reported that this was the longest such streak since 1999-2000. That’s incorrect. The Raiders had an eight-game unbeaten streak (6-0-2) in 2002-2003. In the current unbeaten streak, Colgate is 6-0-1. Only Minnesota-Duluth (14, 11-0-3) and Northeastern (8, 7-0-1) have longer unbeaten streaks. Oh, by the way, it has been almost two months since Colgate lost a game.
*For the first time since Oct. 14, the Raiders should have a full line-up at their disposal. Both Kurtis Bartliff and Billy Rivellini have returned from injuries and Joe Wilson should also return after missing the Canisius game. The Raiders have not been at full strength in terms of healthy skaters since the Miami (Ohio) series when Bartliff went down.
*Entering into the weekend, the Raiders are in the top 10 in both national polls. Colgate sits at number seven in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Top 15 and at number nine in the USCHO.com Top 20. The Raiders have been ranked nationally since mid-October after splitting with Miami (Ohio). Colgate has never been higher in the USA Today poll.
*After Thursday night’s games, Colgate is tied for 13th in the PairWise rankings with Lake Superior State. The Raiders are just behind a three-way tie for 10th involving Michigan State, Western Michigan and Colorado College. CU also sits at number 13 in the KRACH rankings. That said, Colgate is listed at 39th in terms of strength of schedule.
*Breaking down Colgate’s seven-game unbeaten streak, the Raiders have outscored opponents 27-9 and have scored at least three goals in all six victories. That’s an average of 3.85 goals scored per game against 1.29 goals per game allowed. Also, CU is 25.0% on the power play over the last seven games while the penalty kill is 85.7%. It should be noted that six of the seven games in the streak have been at Starr Rink. The only road game in the stretch was on Nov. 25 at Vermont.
*Colgate has six games this season with at least two power play goals. The three against Canisius marked the second-highest total the the Raiders have tallied in 2010-211. A high of four power play goals was set at Niagara on Oct. 28.
*The state of Michigan has not been kind to the Maroon and White. All-time, Colgate is 6-16-2 in games played in the state of Michigan. These are games in Michigan and not just against Michigan schools. Colgate has not won a game in Michigan since sweeping a two-game series at Ferris State in Oct. 2004. Since then, CU has played seven games in Michigan and has gone 0-6-1. Colgate’s first game in Michigan was played in 1933 against the University of Michigan. The Raiders have played games at Michigan, Michigan State, Ferris State, Western Michigan and Lake Superior State. Two of the three Upper Peninsula schools, Northern Michigan and Michigan Tech, have never hosted Colgate.
*While Colgate’s overall penalty kill is operating at 81,5% and 85,7% in the midst of a seven-game unbeaten streak, it should be mentioned that Colgate has allowed two power play goals in two of the last three games – Saint Lawrence and Canisius. The Griffs entered into Starr Rink having scored just six power play goals in 64 chances.
*Four players have already set career highs in offensive categories this season. Austin Smith – goals (19), Chris Wagner – assists (15) and points (22), Austin Mayer – goals (7), assists (7), points (14) and Matt Firman – assists (7). Also…Colgate’s skaters have combined for 37 multi-point games this season. Incidentally Austin Smith has 35 career multi-point games.
*The Maroon and White remain second in the nation in short-handed goals. Colgate has seven short-handed goals in 18 games. Boston University leads the nation with eight short-handed goals. The Terriers also are first in the country in penalty minutes per game.
*As the calendar switched to 2012, Austin Smith was first in the country in total goals (19), total points (31), goals per game (1.06), points per game (1.72) and short-handed goals (five). He is tied for first nationally in game-winning goals (five). No other skater nationally has more than three short-handed goals or averages over a goal per contest. Smith has 134 career points and he is in 23rd place on Colgate’s all-time scoring list.
*Austin Smith leads Colgate in points over the last seven games with 16 points (9-7-16) and Chris Wagner is second with 11 points (4-7-11). Robbie Bourdon has scored four times in the last seven games.
*With a power play goal against Canisius on Dec. 30, Corbin McPherson scored his fourth career game-winning goal. McPherson has just seven goals total over six games. When McPherson scores the Raiders are 5-1-0 overall. Corbin has potted game-winning goals against Brown (09-10), Sacred Heart (10-11), Army (10-11) and Canisius (11-12). McPherson has also tallied strikes versus Robert Morris and Boston College.
*Going back to the win over Clarkson in early February, the Raiders are 20-10-3.
*Alex Evin continues to lead the country in goals against average (1.48) and save percentage (.948). Eric Mihalik, Colgate’s wins leader with eight, has also climbed in the national rankings. Mihalik is 28th in goals against average (2.48) and 38th in save percentage (.912). As a team, Colgate is eighth nationally in scoring defense (2.17).
*Scoring three goals or more: 12-1-0; Leading after two periods: 10-0-0
0 comments:
Post a Comment