The Colgate University Raiders

Magness Arena, November 28, 2008
(above) Starr Rink on the campus of Colgate University

The No. 9 Denver Pioneers (7-5-1) host Colgate (4-4-2) from the ECAC in nonconference action on Nov. 28 at Magness Arena. Puck drop is set for 7:37 p.m. against Colgate on Nov. 28 The game will be webcast live (fee) on www.DenverPioneers.com and broadcast live on 560 AM.

Denver is 3-1 all-time against Colgate in the series that started in 1969. DU defeated Colgate, 3-2, in the last meeting on Oct. 7, 2006, at the Ice Breaker Invitational in Oxford, Ohio. The Raiders visit Denver for the first time since Jan. 3-4, 1969.

Raiders to Watch
The Raiders are winless in their last five games at 0-3-2 after starting the season 4-1. Brian Day, a sixth round draft pick of the New York Islanders, is the best-known forward for the Raiders, and Austin Smith and David McIntyre join Day in leading Colgate in scoring with eight points each, while Quebecker Francois Brisebois has added seven points and a team-leading three power-play goals. Junior goaltender Charles Long has a 3-4-2 record with a 1.87 GAA and .924 Saves percentage.

About Colgate University
Colgate University is a small private liberal arts colle ge of 2,800 primarily undergraduate students located in the Village of Hamilton in Madison County, in central New York’s Chenango Valley. It was founded in 1819 as a Baptist seminary, but has since become non-denominational. And yes, the name of the school comes from the same family as the toothpaste…

In 1817, the Baptist Education Society of the State of New York was founded by 13 men (six clergymen and seven laymen). Two years later, in 1819, the state granted the school's charter, and in 1820, the school was opened. In 1823, Baptists in New York City (including William Colgate, who created the Colgate-Palmolive company, makers of soap and toothpaste) moved their seminary to Hamilton, NY to form the Hamilton Literary and Theological Institution. This was the beginning of the Colgate family's involvement with the school.

The school changed its name to Madison University in 1846. In 1850, the Baptist Education Society planned to move the university to Rochester, but was halted by legal action. Dissenti ng trustees, faculty, and students founded the University of Rochester.

After seven decades of the Colgate family's involvement with the school, Madison University changed its name to Colgate University in 1890 in honor of William Colgate and his two sons, one of whom, J. B. Colgate (left), established the Dodge Memorial Fund of $1,000,000. The theological side of Colgate merged with the Rochester Theological Seminary in 1928 to become the Colgate Ro chester Divinity School, leaving Colgate to become non-denominational. In 1970, Colgate became coeducational.

About 95% of seniors graduate and most alumni proceed to graduate schools in law, administration, engineering, medicine, the arts and the sciences, as well as to financial, administrative or scientific occupations.

As of 2008, Colgate is ranked 18th in the U.S. News and World Report ranking of liberal arts colleges in the United States and 44th in the Forbes ranking of all U.S. universities.

About The Colgate University Hockey Program
Colgate began playing hockey in 1916, playing without a coach at first, and played only in sporadic years for the next 15 years, accumulating only about 35 total games prior to the 1932 season. At that point, J. Howard Starr took over the program as coach. During his tenure at Colgate, Starr established himself as the then-winningest hockey coach in Raider history. He guided the program for 15 seasons (1932-42, 1945-50) while posting an overall record of 86-72-4 including one undefeated season. His squads won the Lake Placid Intercollegiate Ice Hockey Tournament four consecutive years (1938-41).

After Starr left temporarily as coach in 1942, Greg Batt, a player on the 1942 Colgate team, took over as player-coach. Batt is considered one of the greatest hockey players in Colgate history. Batt guided the Red Raiders to an undefeated 11-0-0 season in 1943-43 . It is acknowledged that the 52 goals and 36 assists he scored in that campaign constitute an all-time Colgate record for goals, assists and points in one season. Batt was later invited to play in the 1948 Olympic Games. He also lettered three years in baseball and tennis, and would later become coach at nearby Hamilton College until the early 1980s.

Starr returned to coach Colgate in 1945, and led Colgate to a second undefeated season in 1946-47 at 14-0 and won the national AAU Championship, in the last season before the NCAA began hosting a National Tournament in 1948.

Colgate entered a fairly grim period throughout the 1950s, with no winning seasons until the 1961-62 squad went 18-6 in the newly constituted ECAC under coach Olav Kollevall. Perhaps the biggest bright spot of the ‘50s was the opening of Starr Rink in 1959, which while renovated in the 1990s, is still the hockey home of the Raiders. Starr Rink was one several arenas used in the filming of the 1977 cult hockey classic film, “Slap Shot”.

Coach Kollevall had some pretty good teams in the early 1960s, and his 1962-63 squad was the first Colgate team to go to the ECAC playoffs at 16-5-1. But the good times didn’t last long, as the Raiders fell into another long fallow period, with only two winning seasons between 1964 and 1978.

In 1977, Terry Slater, a 1961 St. Lawrence all-American player from Kirkland Lake, Ont. became coach of the Raiders, a job he would hold until December of 1991, when he died on his 54th birthday, four days after suffering a tragic stroke at his home.

Slater had some good teams in his early years, including the 1980-81 team, that went 21-12-2 and made it to the NCAA tournament for the first time as a #4 seed, losing in the quarterfinals to Minnesota in Minneapolis by 9-4 and 5-4 scores in the two-game, total-goals series.

Slater would later guide the Raiders to 12 more winning seasons in his next 14 years as coach, racking up 280 wins, 180 losses and 23 ties. In the calendar year before he died, Slater guided the Raiders to the best season in school history in 1989-90, when the Raiders went 31-6-1, cruised to the ECAC regular season title, and the won ECAC tournament title in Boston behind the goaltending of Dave Gagnon. As host of an NCAA quarterfinal series as a #2 seed, the Raiders beat Lake Superior State, 3-2 and 2-1 in the two-game total goals series to advance to the Frozen Four in Detroit. In the national semi-final against Boston University, the Raiders edged the Terriers 3-2 in a thriller, setting up a showdown with Wisconsin in the NCAA final. Unfortunately for Colgate, the Raiders took a series of early penalties. The opportunistic Badgers jumped on the Raiders for some power play goals, jumping out to a 4-1 lead in the first 10 minutes of the game and crushing the hopes of the Raider faithful en route to a 7-3 final score.

Current coach Don Vaughan took over the program in 1992-1993, and after a pair of down years, returned Colgate to six straight winning seasons, culminating in 2000, when the Raiders went 24-9-2 and returned to the NCAA tournament as a #4 seed, taking Michigan to overtime before falling 3-2 in Albany, NY.

Vaughan returned to the NCAA tournament as a #4 seed in 2004-2005, when the Raiders went 25-11-3 and fell to Colorado College 6-5 in the NCAA regional in Grand Rapids, Mich.

Colgate Traditions
Nickname and Mascot:
For much of its history, Colgate's sports teams were called the "Red Raiders." The origin of the name is disputed: some claim it was in reference to the school color (maroon); others believe it was a reference to the team's ability to defeat its much larger rival, the Cornell University "Big Red." However, the controversial Native American mascot reflected a third possibility. In the 1970s, the school debated changing the name and mascot due to concerns that it was offensive to Native Americans. At that time the name was kept, but the mascot was changed from a Native American to a hand holding a torch. In 2001, a group of stud ents approached the administration with the concern that the name "Red Raiders" still implied a Native American mascot. The school agreed to drop the word "Red" from the team name starting in the 2001-02 school year, due to concerns about the lingering association of "Red" with previously used Native American iconography (whether or not the use of the term "Red" was intended as such). A new mascot, a red-haired, lantern-jawed costumed colonial man called “Raider” with a tricorn hat, was introduced in 2006-07

The number 13 is considered to be lucky to Colgate. It is said that Colgate was founded by thirteen men with thirteen dollars and thirteen prayers. This manifests itself in a number of ways, such as Colgate's address (13 Oak Drive); zip code, 13346, which begins with 13 and the last 3 numbers add up to 13.

School Colors:
The early Colgate color was orange, but a Special School Committee on Colors decided to adopt “Colgate Maroon” on March 24, 1900. Gray was added later.

Fight Song Lyrics:

FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT
Words by F. AL Hubbard 1905
Music by R. L. Smith 1912

Hark the strains of martial music ringing, Sounds of voices raised in joyous singing, Colors proudly waving to the sky, A host is drawing nigh. Just watch them; They march and sing along a triumph song, It is the wearers of the old Maroon And this is what they sing: Chorus: Fight, fight, fight for dear old Colgate! With heart and hand now we'll win for thee! Oh, we will fight, fight, fight for Alma Mater, On to victory we're marching! Fo es shall bend their knee before us, And pay their homage to pow'r so great, So let us send out a cheer and banish all fear, While we are fighting hard for old Colgate. Famous Colgate alumni Arts and Business

* Charles Addams (1933), New Yorker cartoonist known for macabre drawings and inspiring the “Addams Family” TV and Movie franchise
* Bob Balaban, television and movie actor
* Gillian Vigman (1994), actor/comedian ("Sons and Daughters", "MADtv")
* John Marks (1931), creator of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," etc.
* Francesca Zambello (1978), opera director, manager
* Jay Chandrasekhar (1991), director (Super Troopers, "Arrested Development", Club Dread)
* Kevin Heffernan (1990), actor/comedian (Super Troopers, Club Dread, Beerfest)
* Broken Lizard, comedy troupe (Super Troopers, Club Dread, Beer Fest)
* Chris Paine (1983), documentary filmmaker (Who Killed the Electric Car?)
* Peter Rowan, bluegrass musician, songwriter ("Panama Red")
* Lawrence Bossidy (1957), chairman, CEO, Honeywell International; former CEO, AlliedSignal Inc.
* Ben Cohen (1973), co-founder and president, Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream (did not graduate)
* Cyrus Eaton (1941), chairman, Eaton Corp.
* Armand Zildjian (1944), former head of the Avedis Zildjian Company
* Ed Werner (1971) and John Haney (1972), co-inventors of Trivial Pursuit

Politics
* A. Peter Burleigh (1963), U.S. ambassador to the Philippines
* James Courter (1963), former New Jersey congressman and candidate fo r governor
* Louis Frey (1955), former congressman from Florida
* Charles Evans Hughes (1884), chief justice, U.S. Supreme Court 1930-41
* Peter Peyser (1943), former U.S. congressman 1971-77, 1979-83
* Adam Clayton Powell (1930), Pioneering African American N.Y. congressman
* William P. Rogers (1934), former U.S. secretary of state under Nixon
* Dean P. Taylor (1925), U.S. Congressman, New York 1943-1961

Media
* Gloria Borger (1974), U.S. News & World Report, Washington Week, CBS special correspondent
* Monica Crowley (1990), Richard Nixon biographer; political and international affairs analyst, FOX
* Michael Gordon (1972), chief military correspondent, bestselling author, New York Times
* Howard Fineman (1970), chief political correspondent, senior editor, Newsweek
* Andy Rooney (1942), CBS-TV: 60 Minutes commentator, columnist
* Bob Woodruff (1983), ABC News foreign correspondent
* Joe Castiglione (1968), former TV play-by-play man for the Cleveland Indians, currently radio play-by-play man for the Boston Red Sox

Sports

* David Conte (1971), Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations and Director of Scouting for the New Jersey Devils
* Rich Erenberg (1984), former running back, Pittsburgh Steelers
* Dan Fortmann (1936), Hall of Fame guard, Chicago Bears in the 1930s
* Adonal Foyle (1998), center, Orlando Magic
* Kenny Gamble (1988), former running back, Kansas City Chiefs, also an assistant athletic director at Colgate and executive with Reebok
* Bruce Gardner (1994), former forward, St. Louis Blues, Ottawa Senators, Tampa Bay Lightning, Columbus Blue Jackets, and New Jersey Devils
* Greg Manusky (1988), former linebacker, Washington Redskins, Minnesota Vikings, and Kansas City Chiefs, now defensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers
* Andy McDonald (2000), center for the St. Louis Blues
* Mike Milbury (1970), former defenseman for the Boston Bruins, forme r coach for Boston and the New York Islanders, former General Manager of the Islanders, and TV analyst for ESPN, NBC, TSN, and NESN
* Mark Murphy (1977), former safety, Washington Redskins, former Athletic Director at Colgate and Northwestern University, President of the Green Bay Packers
* Steve Poapst (1991), former defenseman, Chicago Blackhawks
* Eugene Robinson (1985), former safety, Carolina Panthers, Atlanta Falcons, Green Bay Packers, and Seattle Seahawks
* Mark van Eeghen (1974), former running back, Oakland Raiders
* Ernest Vandeweghe (1949), former player for New York Knicks, former surgeon for L.A. Lakers

About Hamilton, New York
Hamilton is a town in Madison County, New York, United States. Hamilton is situated in the heart of New York State’s leather stocking country, made famous in th e writings of James Fenimore Cooper. The population was 5,733 at the 2000 census. The town is named after the American patriot, Alexander Hamilton. Much of the town serves Colgate University. The location was formerly called Payne's Corners.

The Town of Hamilton was established in 1795, before the county was formed, from the Town of Paris in Oneida County, New York. The original town was reduced to create new towns in the county. Hamilton is located in the center of New York State on Route 12B, just 20 miles south of the New York State Thruway (I-90) and 30 miles east of I-81. Homes, shops and a country inn center on a village green that is the site of a weekly farmer’s market.

The Game
Having not seen the Raiders play this year, it’s hard to know what kind of Colgate team will show up in Denver as the first stop in a two-game Colorado swing against DU (Friday) and CC (Saturday). Will we see the Colgate team that went 4-1 to start the season, or the more recent 0-3-2 team that has played the last 5 games?

Against ranked teams this November, Colgate lost to then #9 Princeton 2-1 on OT, then lost and tied against #14 Cornell 4-1, and 2-2, then tied #18 Harvard 2-2 in last weekend, so chances are, even when it doesn’t go the Raider’s way, it’s a close game.

“We have to be focused and ready to play,” said Colgate head coach Don Vaughan. “We are looking forward to the challenge of facing two top 10 teams (in Denver and Colorado Springs)

The Raiders, 4-4-2 overall, head out west following a 1-0 loss to Dartmouth and a 2-2 tie to then 18th-ranked Harvard, last weekend at Starr Rink. Colgate will bring one of the nation’s most stingy defenses into the weekend. Led by a veteran laden cast of blueliners and goalie Charles Long, the Raiders have allowed 1.90 goals per game, which ranks in a tie for 11th nationally. Colgate’s penalty kill remains one of the top in the country as well. The Raiders, also tied for 11th, have successfully killed off 57 of 62 attempts against, including 21 of their last 22.

Long has started nine of the first 10 games and sports a 1.87 goals against average and a .924 save percentage. The junior is 16th in the country in goals against average.

DU is coming off a Jekyll-and-Hyde split with Minnesota, where Friday, DU was awful in a 5-2 loss, but after a players-only team meeting and coach Gwozdecky’s benching of four regulars the next night, the Pioneers played great hockey in shutting out the top-ranked Gophers, 4-0. The Pioneers have the nation’s eighth best offense (3.38 GPG), and the game may hinge on the effectiveness of DU’s power play against Colgate’s 11th best PK. (92%). Goaltender Marc Cheverie, who this year has been up and down, appears to be righting the ship, and I would expect to see Patrick Mullen return to the lineup this weekend as a puck-moving defenseman with Patrick Wiercioch’s duties likely limited to the power-play only due to an upper-body injury.

With the confidence coming off shutting out the nation’s best team last weekend, and playing on home ice, Denver certainly would be the favorite on paper. However, with the students away from campus on winter break and a heated local rivalry game looming on Saturday against Air Force, a classic “trap scenario” awaits the Pioneers if they are not totally focused on the Raiders.

Prediction: Denver 3, Colgate 2 (OT)