Game 21: Colgate at Ferris State
Date: Sat., Jan. 7, 2012
Site: Ewigleben Ice Arena; Big Rapids, Mich.
Score: Ferris State 3 Colgate 1
Records: Colgate 12-6-2 (6-2-0 ECAC), Ferris State 13-8-1 (7-6-1 CCHA)
Colgate Game Story
Ferris State Game Story
USCHO.com Arena Report
Big Rapids Pioneer News (Subscription required)
Video Highlights
Box Score
Quick Analysis
Well hello Mr. Hyde, nice to see you again.
The Good
*Well, at least that’s over.
*The Austin Smith, Chris Wagner and Joe Wilson line was Colgate’s best on the night. The trio generated a high number of chances and consistently got the puck into the high-traffic zone and put shots on goal. Smith in particular had another fantastic night and his back-handed goal to the top shelf on a 2-on-1 rush was a thing of beauty. The line has been Colgate’s top offensive line all season and there was no question that that was the case on Saturday evening.
*The officiating was almost a night-and-day difference from Friday night. The officials did a much better job and the game had a lot more of a flow to it with fewer than eight combined penalties called. However, the game wasn’t without some controversy as Colgate’s Joe Wilson took a seemingly random 10-minute misconduct about halfway through the third period which resulted in him being sent off for the rest of the game. Other than that, there are no complaints from us about the zebras.
The Bad
*If we didn’t know any better, we’d have thought that was last year’s Colgate team out on the ice against Ferris State. The same issues that plagued CU throughout last season came about on Saturday against Ferris – lack of quality offense, poor play in the defensive zone, not winning enough physical battles along the wall, general sloppiness, lackadaisical play at times, no one outside of one line stepping up offensively and mental errors. This was probably Colgate’s worst effort of the season so far.
*The biggest thing that hurt Colgate was a simple lack of offense. The Raiders had 28 shots on goal but very few Grade-A chances. Colgate would dump the puck in and Ferris would win a race or a battle and swat the puck right back out. The Maroon and White were not able whatsoever to get a down-low cycle going with any of its lines and generally it was one-and-done as per an offensive possession. Colgate never really asserted its’ will offensively with a prolonged fore-check sequence, something that was going on as recent as the Canisius win and the Merrimack tie. As good as Austin Smith and Chris Wagner are, Colgate cannot simply win as a one-line team.
*Colgate struggled clearing the puck from the defensive zone and good decisions weren’t being made. The Raiders have in general been very good defensively this year. Part of that has been Colgate’s success at making smart decisions and clearing the zone. Saturday, and Friday as well, defenders slowly passed the puck around the boards trying to clear it and Ferris State players would hustle in, take the puck and start another chance. Very few if any Raiders looked for a bank off the glass clear. This would have helped considering the slow and choppy ice along the boards at both ends which Ferris took full advantage of and CU didn’t at least on the ice change the game plan. At times, players lost the puck in their skates, over-skated the puck or slow-played and were tied up by Ferris State forwards. FSU did not have a ferocious fore-check, the Raiders just weren’t strong enough in their own end.
*For the second night in a row, there was general sloppiness in the neutral zone in terms of general passing and then looking for a lead into the offensive zone. This was the case for both teams but it really plagued Colgate in the third period when trying to come from behind. Players would look to stretch the defense or be too cute with the puck instead of trying to enter the zone. This resulted in quick clears or passes not even getting over the FSU blue line. The Ferris defensive game and trap had something to do with this however Colgate was just too sloppy and too cute at times for its own good.
*Many of the batltes along the wall and in the corners were won by players in white sweaters. Many a time on both nights, Ferris players flocked to the puck along the boards and out-numbered the skaters in the Maroon jersey’s. This happened both in the offensive and defensive zones including on the power play and penalty kill. Ferris wasn’t an overly physical team in terms of body-checking but the Bulldogs won the physical battles along the wall and also players in the offensive zone were able to shun Colgate checkers away to maintain possession. One of the keys for CU this year has been board play, establishing a cycle and winning battles – none of those three worked this weekend.
*Slow start to periods. Two of the three Ferris State goals were scored in the opening minute of a period. FSU ended a scoreless tie 54 seconds into the second period and then the back-breaking goal to make it 3-1 Ferris was tallied in the opening 30 ticks of the third frame. You’re not going to win allowing two scores in opening minute of a period.
*Defensive breakdowns on all three goals. On the first goal, a Ferris dump-in was mis-handled behind the net when Eric Mihalik collided with one of his defensemen in an apparent miscommunication. A Ferris player was able to get the puck, move it back up top and then a wide shot caromed off of the boards to an open FSU player on the right post who stuffed it into the net quickly. The goal scorer appeared to be un-marked. The second goal came on a 2-on-2 rush as Colgate defensively did not get up the ice quick enough and the third offensive man in one-timed home a drop pass from the high slot. The third goal is described below.
The Turning Point
Colgate had around 40 seconds of carryover power play time to start the third period. The Raiders began the frame down by just a single goal at 2-1. However that would quickly change as 21 seconds into the third, Colgate was not able to hold the zone on the power play. A foot race to the other end resulted in a wipeout on the left-wing boards just above the circles. The puck rolled towards the net and FSU’s Garrett Thompson was the first player there, racing in and slipping a quick shot past Eric Mihalik to give Ferris a 3-1 lead. While Colgate pressured somewhat after getting down by two, the goal completely changed the complexion of the game. Not even 30 seconds out of the intermission locker room, it went from a one-goal game to a two-goal deficit.
This and that…
*Colgate finished the non-conference portion of the schedule with a 6-4-2 record. Three of the four losses ended up coming to teams from the CCHA – Ferris State (x2), Miami (Ohio).Regardless of the result this weekend, Colgate wrapped up non-league play with a winning mark for the first time since 2007-2008.
*Austin Smith became the first player in the nation to reach the 20-goal plateau. Smith’s career-high 20 goals have come in 20 games for an average of 1.00 goals per game. The senior has 63 career scores. Colgate’s last 20-goal scorer was Brian Day in 2009-2010. The recent high for a Colgate skater was 23 by Tyler Burton in 2007-2008. Smith is just seven goals away from Colgate’s single-season top 10. The school record for goals in a single season is held by Dan Fridgen (38, 1981-82)
*Not a highly penalized team in the first half of the season aside from the mess at Harvard, Colgate received two 10-minute misconducts on the weekend. Austin Smith was whistled for one on Friday and then Joe Wilson picked up the same penalty in the third period on Saturday.
*Colgate has trailed after two periods just four times this season. In those games, the Raiders are 0-3-1. The lone non-loss came on Oct. 22 against Army. Saturday’s 2-1 deficit through two marked the first time Colgate has been behind after two periods since Nov. 12 at Harvard. That game ended up as a 4-2 defeat at Bright Hockey Center.
*Each Colgate-Ferris State series at Ewigleben Ice Arena has ended up in a sweep. Ferris swept Colgate in Nov. 2000 and then the Raiders brought their brooms with them in Oct. 2004. And of course this weekend, the Bulldogs earned a series sweep.
*CU has lost back-to-back games for the first time this season. The last time this happened was in Atlantic City last year at the ECAC championships. Colgate fell in the ECAC semifinals to Yale and then dropped the consolation game the following afternoon to Dartmouth.
*Ferris State’s third goal of the game was a short-handed goal, the first that Colgate has allowed this season. The short-handed strike snapped a Colgate streak of 21 games without allowing a short-handed goal. RPI’s Chase Polacek netted a short-handed goal in Game 2 of the Colgate-RPI series this past March (CU won the game 5-2). The Raiders yielded seven short-handed goals last season.
*Saturday marked the third time this season that Austin Smith has been Colgate’s only goal-scorer. Back in October, Smith tallied twice in a 2-2 overtime tie with Army on Cape Cod. And on Nov. 18, Smith recorded a hat trick in a 3-1 triumph over Quinnipiac at Starr Rink.
*Saturday was also the fifth time this season that Colgate has recorded two or fewer goals. In those games, CU is 0-3-2.
*Saturday’s game and the series nearly ended with a full-scale line brawl. As the final seconds ticked down, Colgate chipped the puck into the offensive zone with Robbie Bourdon in pursuit. Bourdon was just about to control the puck prior to the horn when FSU’s Chad Billins came sweeping in with a hip check aimed at Bourdon’s knees. Bourdon was spared a full impact as he side-stepped the hit though he still went down. (You can see the play briefly during the video highlights before the Bob Daniels interview). Colgate players took exception and there was a gathering in the right wing corner of the Ferris zone. Thankfully this resulted in nothing more than your garden variety grapping/pushing and shoving and cooler heads prevailed.
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