NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The Merrimack College men's ice hockey team opens the 2017-18 season on the road with a two-game weekend series, as the Warriors head out to Hamilton, New York, to battle Colgate University at the Class of 1965 Arena. Puck drop each night is 7:30 p.m.
Inside the Series
- Merrimack owns a 10-7-2 all-time record against the Raiders, with the two teams meeting for the second straight season this weekend.
- Last year, the Warriors swept the two-game set at Lawler Rink on Homecoming Weekend by means of 4-3 and 5-2 victories.
- Before that, the last time the two schools met was on Nov. 23, 2012, at Lawler Rink; they each battled to a 1-1 draw on that occasion, which marked the second straight 1-1 tie in as many years after doing likewise at Starr Rink on Dec. 10, 2011.
- Before then, Merrimack and Colgate had gone over a decade without facing each other (Nov. 23, 2001 - Dec. 10, 2011); there also was about a 15-year gap in the series from Nov. 19, 1977 through Nov. 5, 1993.
- Merrimack holds an edge in the eight games played at Lawler Rink (5-2-1) but has conversely gone 3-4-1 in eight games played at the prior home of the Raiders, Starr Rink. This year marks Merrimack's first time playing in the Class of 1965 Arena.
Wrapping Up 2016-17
- Merrimack enjoyed another successful season in 2016-17 that included 15 overall victories, a second consecutive seventh-place finish in the league standings, a home playoff series and several marquee victories against nationally ranked opponents along the way.
- Merrimack endured an up-and-down first half that was highlighted by a Homecoming Weekend sweep of Colgate, a victory over Cornell at home, the first-ever road win against perennial power Wisconsin, and a thorough victory against eventual NCAA Tournament participant Providence College.
- The second half of the season featured a trip to the Sunshine State to play in the Florida College Hockey Classic and an early victory against eventual Frozen Four participant Notre Dame before the Warriors caught fire with an eight-game unbeaten streak that was the second-longest of the Division I era.
- Merrimack not only swept top-ranked Boston University for the first time in a regular season series as members of Hockey East, but also took the season series against Boston College after a convincing road win at Conte Forum, marking the first time in program history that the Warriors took the regular season series against both BU and BC.
- Merrimack finished seventh in the league standings for the second year in a row, drawing the University of New Hampshire in the Hockey East Tournament's Opening Round for the second consecutive season, as well. And while Merrimack topped UNH, 4-0, in Game 1, the Wildcats would eventually win the series to stop the Warriors' bid for a third straight appearance in the Hockey East Quarterfinals.
Scouting the Raiders
- Colgate finished last season with a 9-22-6 record, including a 6-13-3 mark in the ECAC en route to a 10th-place finish in the league standings. The Raiders took Princeton to three games in its opening round playoff series but ultimately lost, 2-1.
- The Raiders are already a game deep into their 2017-18 schedule after dispatching Niagara at home, 5-1, last weekend.
- The Raiders return just over 60 percent of their goals scored from the 2016-17 season, led by Jared Cockrell, who had six markers on the year.
- Overall, the lead returning scorer is Bobby McMann, a sophomore, who posted 19 points as a rookie thanks to 14 assists and five goals. Cockrell is right behind him on that list after finishing with 17 points overall as a rookie.
- Colton Point, a Dallas Stars draft pick, returns for his sophomore season after ending the season on a hot stretch a 2.07 GAA and .936 save percentage in his final six appearances. He finished the year with a 2.45 GAA and .918 SV% overall in nine starts.
- The Raiders struggled to put the puck in the net last season after averaging only 2.11 goals per game, the fifth-worst scoring average in the country. Colgate was slightly better defensively, ranking 38th (3.05).
- Colgate's special teams featured the nation's 35th-best power play (17.6) and 22nd-best penalty kill (83.3).
- Don Vaughan, entering his 25th year at the helm of the Raiders, is nine wins shy of 400 for his career after starting the season with a 390-403-92 record.
Up Next
The Warriors and Raiders round out their weekend series on Saturday night back at the Class of 1965 Arena at 7:30 p.m. Next weekend, Merrimack welcomes the University of Wisconsin to campus for the first time in school history when it hosts the Badgers as part of Homecoming Weekend on Saturday (Oct. 21) night. Puck drop from Lawler Rink is set for 7 p.m.
