Colgate Raiders men's ice hockey

   NCAA Tournament Runner-up1990NCAA Tournament Frozen Four1990NCAA Tournament appearances1981, 1990, 2000, 2005, 2014, 2023Conference Tournament championships1990, 2023Conference regular season championships1989–90, 2003–04, 2005–06Current uniform

The Colgate Raiders men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents Colgate University. The Raiders are a member of ECAC Hockey. They used to play at Starr Rink from its inauguration in 1959 until the 2015–16 season. Starting with the 2016–17 NCAA season, the Raiders have started playing their home games in the Class of 1965 Arena. The program is located in Hamilton, New York.^[2]

History

Early years

Colgate's ice hockey team began as a four-game experiment in 1916 and 1917. The program was put on ice during World War I but returned in 1920 with a coach leading the Red Raiders. James Ballantine stayed with Colgate for eight years despite the program being mothballed in 1923 and remaining fallow until 1928. After ensuring the team returned he handed the coaching duties over to Ray Watkins who stayed for four uneventful seasons before assistant professor of Physical Education John Howard Starr took over. Starr spent the first four seasons toiling with losing records before both he and the team started to turn the Red Raiders' fortunes. In the late 1930s Colgate started posting lofty records of 8–1 and 9–4 and continued doing so into the early-40s. In 1942 Starr left the program to volunteer for service in World War II. The team continued on for two seasons, posting an undefeated record in 1943 of 11–0, before being suspended for the final year of the war. Once peace had been achieved Starr and the team returned. After a down season in 1946 the Red Raiders earned their second undefeated record, going 14–0 in 1946–47. The team kept up its winning ways until 1950 when Starr resigned as head coach. The new bench boss, Tom Dockrell got off to a slow start with the Red Raiders who became a founding member of the first ice hockey conference, the Tri-State League, but didn't get an opportunity to improve his record due to unseasonably warm weather that caused the program to cease operations for the next six years.^[3]

Indoor ice and the ECAC

Colgate finally returned to the ice in 1958^[4] and continued with new head coach Olav Kollevoll for two seasons before their first indoor ice rink was finished. The building was dedicated to the former coach as the J. Howard Starr Rink at the first game played on its surface in December 1959.^[5] With the stability of the program ensured the team was able to build itself into a respectable unit, producing increasing win totals into the early 1960s and founding its second conference, ECAC Hockey along with 27 other schools. Colgate finished their first year of conference play with an 18–6 mark, setting a new school record for wins and finishing tied for 6th but it wasn't enough to earn them a selection as one of the top 8 teams in the conference so they missed the playoffs. The following year saw the team slip to 7th in the ECAC but this time they received an entry into the postseason, losing to eventual champion Harvard in the quarterfinals. The next year brought the team record up to 19 wins and a second playoff berth where they once again lost to the eventual ECAC champion in their first game, this time to Providence. After a down year in 1965 Kollevoll was replaced by Ron Ryan who held the reins for seven seasons but could only lead the team to middling results most years. After two poor showings in the early '70s the team passed through three coaches over five years, eventually landing with former St. Lawrence player Terry Slater.

Rise to prominence and tragedy

Slater's first season was an unmitigated disaster, with the team posting its worst record since tournament play began (as of 2018) but that was wiped away in his second season when the Red Raiders posted their first winning season since 1970. The following season brought Colgate its first ECAC playoff in over a decade and in 1981 Colgate notched its first 20+ win season, its first ECAC playoff win and its first appearance in the NCAA tournament. Slater would keep Colgate in good standing for the duration of the 1980s, posing winning records in all but one season, however, the Red Raiders couldn't get out of the ECAC quarterfinals in any of their succeeding appearances. All of that changed in 1989–90 when Colgate jumped out with a tremendous start and never looked back. The team won its first ECAC regular season championship by a huge margin and swept its way through the ECAC tournament to take its first conference title. The Red Raiders received the second eastern seed and a bye into the Quarterfinals where they defeated Lake Superior State in two close games. After downing Boston University in the semifinal Colgate only had Wisconsin left in they way but were unable to overcome the Badgers and had to settle for Runner-Up. Colgate predictably declined from its team-record 31 wins the next season but still posted a decent record. In December 1991 Terry Slater suffered a severe stroke and was hospitalized, dying four days later at the age of 54.^[6] His death gutted the team, but they still managed a respectable year in his absence.

Continued success

Don Vaughan arrived in 1992 to help heal the program and while the team struggled through sub-par seasons early on there were some encouraging signs with scattered postseason wins. By the mid-1990s the Red Raiders were posing winning records once more and by the end of the millennium Colgate found itself back in the NCAA tournament. Vaughan was so respected by the administration that he was tasked with serving as the interim Athletic Director for the 2003–04 school year, allowing his assistant Stan Moore to lead the team to an ECAC title and earn an ECAC Coach of the Year Award in the process. Not to be outdone, Vaughan returned to the bench the next year and got a second trip to the NCAA tournament followed by his own ECAC title the season after. Vaughan continues to coach the Raiders and now in his 26th season he holds the school record for wins, losses and ties while having produced several NHL players along with many more professional alumni across Europe and North America.

Current roster

As of September 19, 2023.^[7]

No.	S/P/C	Player	Class	Pos	Height	Weight	DoB	Hometown	Previous team	NHL rights
1		Andrew Takacs	Sophomore	G	6' 2" (1.88 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	2001-02-27	Bowie, Maryland	New Jersey (NAHL)	—
2		Pierson Brandon (C)	Senior	D	6' 0" (1.83 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	2000-06-26	Irvington, New York	Aberdeen (NAHL)	—
4		Reid Irwin	Senior	D	6' 1" (1.85 m)	192 lb (87 kg)	1999-03-01	Victoria, British Columbia	Denver (NCHC)	—
6		Bobby Metz	Sophomore	D	5' 9" (1.75 m)	178 lb (81 kg)	2001-08-20	Bloomfield Hills, Michigan	Minnesota Wilderness (NAHL)	—
7		Simon Labelle	Sophomore	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	2002-09-03	Ottawa, Ontario	Prince George (BCHL)	—
8		P. J. Garrett	Senior	D	6' 4" (1.93 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	2000-01-17	Duxbury, Massachusetts	Powell River (BCHL)	—
9		Nic Belpedio	Junior	D	5' 10" (1.78 m)	194 lb (88 kg)	2001-10-09	Skokie, Illinois	Waterloo (USHL)	—
11		Niko Rexine	Freshman	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	2002-06-20	Syracuse, New York	Muskegon (USHL)	—
12		Daniel Panetta	Sophomore	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	2001-05-20	Belleville, Ontario	Salmon Arm (BCHL)	—
13		Sebastian Tamburro	Sophomore	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	2002-03-04	Toronto, Ontario	Bonnyville (AJHL)	—
14		Ethan Manderville	Graduate	F	6' 4" (1.93 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	2000-07-01	Ottawa, Ontario	Ottawa (CCHL)	—
15		Dom Foglia	Freshman	D	6' 1" (1.85 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	2002-04-09	Tinton Falls, New Jersey	Philadelphia (NAHL)	—
16		Ryan Sullivan	Freshman	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	2002-05-15	Calgary, Alberta	Camrose (AJHL)	—
17		Ross Mitton	Senior	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2000-07-05	Copiague Harbor, New York	Omaha (USHL)	—
18		Ben Raymond	Junior	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	2001-08-22	Newton, Massachusetts	Powell River (BCHL)	—
19		Ryan McGuire	Junior	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	183 lb (83 kg)	2002-07-27	New Canaan, Connecticut	Penticton (BCHL)	—
20		Levi Glasman	Senior	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	172 lb (78 kg)	1999-07-31	Lacombe, Alberta	Powell River (BCHL)	—
22		Robby Newton	Sophomore	F	5' 9" (1.75 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	2001-07-16	Milwaukee, Wisconsin	Wisconsin (Big Ten)	—
23		Owen Neuharth	Sophomore	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	177 lb (80 kg)	2001-10-25	Savage, Minnesota	Fairbanks (NAHL)	—
24		Jake Schneider	Freshman	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	198 lb (90 kg)	2002-12-24	Plymouth, Minnesota	Prince George (BCHL)	—
25		Tommy Bergsland	Junior	D	6' 3" (1.91 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2001-03-23	Minnetrista, Minnesota	Bismarck (NAHL)	—
27		Nick Anderson	Senior	D	5' 10" (1.78 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	1999-01-04	Independence, Minnesota	Sioux Falls (USHL)	—
28		Alex DiPaolo	Junior	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	188 lb (85 kg)	2000-04-28	Oakville, Ontario	Victoria (BCHL)	—
29		Brett Chorske	Junior	F	6' 6" (1.98 m)	193 lb (88 kg)	2001-05-24	Edina, Minnesota	Colorado College (NCHC)	—
35		Nick Haas	Sophomore	G	6' 4" (1.93 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	2001-11-11	Buffalo, New York	Chippewa (NAHL)	—
37		Carter Gylander	Senior	G	6' 5" (1.96 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2001-06-05	Beaumont, Alberta	Sherwood Park (AJHL)	DET, 191st overall 2019

Season-by-season results

Source:^[8]

Coaching history

As of the completion of 2023–24 season^[4]

Tenure	Coach	Years	Record	Pct.
1915–1917	No Coach	2	3–1–0	.750
1920–1922, 1927–28	James Ballantine	3	2–11–0	.154
1928–1932	Ray Watkins	4	6–11–1	.361
1932–1942, 1945–1950	J. Howard Starr	15	87–74–4	.539
1942–1943	Gregory Batt	1	11–0–0	1.000
1943–1944	Albert Prettyman	1	4–2–0	.667
1950–1951	Tom Dockrell	1	2–7–0	.222
1957–1965	Olav Kollevoll	8	81–66–2	.550
1965–1972	Ron Ryan	7	78–92–4	.460
1972–1975	Brad Houston	3	32–47–1	.406
1975–1977	Jim Higgins	2	21–32–0	.396
1977–1991	Terry Slater	15†	251–180–23	.578
1991–1992	Brian Durocher	1†	12–10–0	.545
2003–2004	Stan Moore	1	22–12–5	.628
1992–2003, 2004–2023	Don Vaughan	30	472–514–123	.481
2023–Present	Mike Harder	1	16–16–4	.500
Totals	15 coaches	94 seasons	1100–1065–167	.508

† Terry Slater Died on December 6, 1991.

Awards and honors

NCAA

Individual

Spencer Penrose Award

• Terry Slater: 1990

All-Americans

AHCA First Team All-Americans

AHCA Second Team All-Americans

ECAC Hockey

Individual

All-Conference

First Team All-ECAC Hockey

Second team all-ecac hockey

Third Team All-ECAC Hockey

ECAC Hockey All-Rookie Team

Statistical leaders

Source:^[4]

Career points leaders

Player	Years	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Mike Harder	1994–97	134	88	126	214	78
Steve Smith	1980–84	126	83	129	212	36
Gerard Waslen	1982–86	123	100	101	201	217
Dan Fridgen	1978–82	113	114	78	192	387
Denis Lapensee	1978–82	111	69	122	191	106
Jim Wallace	1980–84	127	77	111	188	46
Joel Gardner	1986–90	130	71	113	184	144
Réjean Boivin	1984–88	128	86	87	173	60
Dale Band	1988–92	128	50	119	169	86
Craig Woodcroft	1987–91	127	73	95	168	250
John Barnett	1972–76		75	93	168

Career goaltending leaders

GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average

Minimum 30 games

Player	Years	GP	Min	W	L	T	GA	SO	SV%	GAA
Colton Point	2016–2018	43	2586	18	17	7	82	6	.938	1.90
Steve Silverthorn	2001–2005	100	5744	55	30	9	213	8	.914	2.22
Mark Dekanich	2004–2008	118	6812	52	45	16	255	11	.923	2.25
Mitch Benson	2018–2022	71	4168	24	35	12	172	2	.918	2.48
Charlie Finn	2013–2017	126	7306	54	57	13	321	8	.911	2.64

Statistics current through the start of the 2022-23 season.

Olympians

This is a list of Colgate alumni were a part of an Olympic team.

Name	Position	Colgate Tenure	Team	Year	Finish
Dick McGlynn	Defenseman	1966–1970	USA	1972	Silver

Players

Raiders in the NHL

As of July 1, 2023.

= NHL All-Star team

= NHL All-Star[9]

= NHL All-Star[9] and NHL All-Star team

• 
  Mike Milbury
• 
  Cory Murphy
• 
  Chris Wagner
• 
  Kyle Wilson

^[10]

WHA

Two players were members of WHA teams.