The Colgate Raiders men's ice hockey team is a

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

(NCAA) Division I

college ice hockey College ice hockey is played principally in the United States and Canada, though leagues exist outside North America. In the United States, competitive "college hockey" refers to ice hockey played between colleges and universities within the go ...

program that represents

Colgate University Colgate University is a Private university, private college in Hamilton, New York, United States. The Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college was founded in 1819 as the Baptist Education Society of the State of New York ...

. The Raiders are a member of

ECAC Hockey ECAC Hockey is one of the six conferences that compete in NCAA Division I college ice hockey, ice hockey. The conference used to be affiliated with the Eastern College Athletic Conference, a consortium of over 300 colleges in the eastern United ...

. 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 Hamilton is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Madison County, New York, Madison County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 6,379 at the 2020 census. The town is named after American Founding Father ...

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 World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

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 Assistant professor is an academic rank just below the rank of an associate professor used in universities or colleges, mainly in the United States, Canada, Japan, and South Korea. Overview This position is generally taken after earning a doct ...

Physical Education Physical education is an academic subject taught in schools worldwide, encompassing Primary education, primary, Secondary education, secondary, and sometimes tertiary education. It is often referred to as Phys. Ed. or PE, and in the United Stat ...

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 World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. 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 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 ...

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 The Tri-State League was the name of six different circuits in American minor league baseball. History The first league of that name played for four years (1887–1890) and consisted of teams in Ohio, Michigan and West Virginia. The second 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.

Indoor ice and the ECAC

Colgate finally returned to the ice in

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the thir ...

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. 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,

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 Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

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 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...

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 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

. The following season brought Colgate its first ECAC playoff in over a decade and in

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

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 Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

in the semifinal Colgate only had

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

left in their 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. 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 An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches a ...

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 The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

players along with many more professional alumni across

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and

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

Current roster

As of July 30, 2024.

Team photo

Season-by-season results

Source:

Coaching history

As of the completion of 2024–25 season † Terry Slater Died on December 6, 1991.

Awards and honors

NCAA

Individual

Spencer Penrose Award The Spencer Penrose Award is awarded yearly to the top coach in NCAA Division I men's ice hockey by the American Hockey Coaches Association. The finalists for each year's award comprise the conference Coach of the Year winners from each Division ...

* Terry Slater: 1990

All-Americans

AHCA First Team All-Americans *1969–70: Tommy Earl, F *1981–82:

Chris Renaud Chris Renaud (born December 1966) is an American filmmaker, designer, storyboard artist, and voice actor. He is best known for his work at Illumination (company), Illumination, including directing the company's animated films such as the Despica ...

, D *1983–84: Steve Smith, F *1987–88: Réjean Boivin, F *1989–90: Dave Gagnon, G *1999–00: Andy McDonald, F *2008–09: David McIntyre, F *2011–12: Austin Smith, F AHCA Second Team All-Americans *1984–85:

Jeff Cooper John Dean "Jeff" Cooper (May 10, 1920 – September 25, 2006) was a United States Marine Corps officer and firearms instructor. He is the creator of the " modern technique" of handgun shooting, and an expert on the use and history of small ...

, G *1989–90: Joel Gardner, F *1991–92: Dale Band, F *1995–96:

Brad Dexter Brad Dexter (born Boris Michel Soso; April 9, 1917 – December 12, 2002) was an American actor and film producer. He is known for tough-guy and western roles, including the 1960 film '' The Magnificent Seven'' (1960), and producing several fi ...

, D *1996–97: Mike Harder, F *2017–18: Colton Point, G

ECAC Hockey

Individual

Player of the Year Several sports leagues honour their best player with an award called Player of the Year. In the United States, this type of award is usually called a Most Valuable Player award. Association football In association football, this award is held on b ...

* Dave Gagnon, G: 1989–90 * Andy McDonald, C: 1999–00 * Austin Smith, RW: 2011–12 Tim Taylor Award * Terry Slater: 1989–90 * Don Vaughan: 1999–00, 2013–14 * Stan Moore: 2003–04 Best Defensive Forward * Jon Smyth: 2003–04 Best Defensive Defenseman * Pierson Brandon: 2020–21 Ken Dryden Award * Mark DeKanich: 2005–06 Student-Athlete of the Year * Matt Verboon: 2022–23 Tournament MOP * Craig Woodcroft:

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

* Carter Gylander:

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

All-Conference

First Team All-ECAC Hockey *1969–70: Tommy Earl, F *1981–82:

, D *1983–84: Steve Smith, F *1984–85:

, G *1987–88: Réjean Boivin, F *1988–89: Scott Young, D *1989–90: Dave Gagnon, G; Joel Gardner, F *1991–92: Dale Band, F *1995–96:

, D *1996–97: Mike Harder, F *1999–00: Cory Murphy, D; Andy McDonald, F *2003–04: Jon Smyth, F *2005–06: Mark Dekanich, G; Tyler Burton, F *2008–09: David McIntyre, F *2011–12: Austin Smith, F *2020–21: Josh McKechney, F *2022–23: Alex Young, F Second Team All-ECAC Hockey *1962–63: Steve Riggs, F *1963–64: Steve Riggs, F *1980–81:

, D; Dan Fridgen, F *1985–86: Gerard Waslen, F *1986–87: Wayne Crowley, G *1988–89:

Paul Cohen Paul Joseph Cohen (April 2, 1934 – March 23, 2007) was an American mathematician, best known for his proofs that the continuum hypothesis and the axiom of choice are independent from Zermelo–Fraenkel set theory, for which he was awarded a F ...

, G *1993–94: Bruce Gardiner, F *1994–95:

, D; Mike Harder, F *1995–96: Dan Brenzavich, G; Mike Harder, F; Chris DeProfio, F *1998–99: Andy McDonald, D *2000–01: Cory Murphy, D; Sean Nolan, F *2002–03: Scooter Smith, G *2003–04: Rob Brown, D *2005–06: Kyle Wilson, F *2006–07: Mark Dekanich, G; Tyler Burton, F;

Jesse Winchester James Ridout "Jesse" Winchester Jr. (May 17, 1944 – April 11, 2014) was an American-Canadian musician and songwriter. He was born and raised in the southern United States. Opposed to the Vietnam War, he moved to Canada in 1967 to avoid ...

, F *2007–08: Tyler Burton, F *2009–10: David McIntyre, F *2011–12: Chris Wagner, F *2017–18: Colton Point, G *2023–24: Tommy Bergsland, D Third Team All-ECAC Hockey *2007–08: Mark Dekanich, G;

, F *2011–12: Thomas Larkin, D *2013–14: Charlie Finn, G; Spiro Goulakos, D *2014–15: Tyson Spink, F; Kyle Baun, F *2015–16: Tyson Spink, F *2016–17: Jake Kulevich, D *2018–19:

Bobby McMann Robert William Lucas McMann (born June 15, 1996) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL). Playing career While playing for the Bonnyville Pontiacs of the Alberta Junior Hockey ...

, F ECAC Hockey All-Rookie Team *1987–88: Steve Poapst, D *1988–89: Dale Band, F; Jamie Cooke, F *1989–90: Bob Haddock, D *1991–92:

, D; Ron Fogarty, F *1993–94: Mike Harder, F *1994–95: Dan Brenzavich, G; Tim Loftsgard, F *1997–98: Cory Murphy, D *2000–01: Rob Brown, D *2003–04: Mike Campaner, D *2004–05: Tyler Burton, F *2005–06: Nick St. Pierre, D *2012–13: Kyle Baun, F; Tylor Spink, F *2013–14: Charlie Finn, G *2017–18: Nick Austin, D *2020–21: Pierson Brandon, D; Alex Young, F *2023–24: Jake Schneider, F

Statistical leaders

Source:

Career points leaders

Career goaltending leaders

''GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% =

Save percentage Save percentage (often known by such symbols as SV%, SVS%, SVP, PCT) is a statistic in various Goal (sports), goal-scoring sports that track Save (goaltender), saves as a statistic. In ice hockey and lacrosse and association football, it is a sta ...

; GAA =

Goals against average Goals against average (GAA), also known as average goals against (AGA), is a statistic used in field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, and water polo that is the mean of goals allowed per game by a goaltender or goalkeeper (depending on spo ...

'' Minimum 30 games Statistics current through the start of the 2024-25 season.

Olympians

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

Players

Raiders in the NHL

As of July 1, 2024. File:Mikemilburyfacingoff.jpg,

Mike Milbury Michael James Milbury (born June 17, 1952) is an American former professional ice hockey player and current sports announcer. He played for twelve seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL), all for the Boston Bruins. He helped the Bruins reach ...

File:Cory Murphy.JPG, Cory Murphy File:Chris Wagner 2018-03-03 19476.jpg, Chris Wagner File:Kyle Wilson.jpg, Kyle Wilson

WHA

Two players were members of WHA teams.

References

External links

* {{ECAC Hockey League College ice hockey teams in New York (state) NCAA Division I men's ice hockey teams 1915 establishments in New York (state) Ice hockey clubs established in 1915

History

Early years

Indoor ice and the ECAC

Rise to prominence and tragedy

Continued success

Current roster

Team photo

Season-by-season results

Coaching history

Awards and honors

NCAA

Individual

All-Americans

ECAC Hockey

Individual

All-Conference

Statistical leaders

Career points leaders

Career goaltending leaders

Olympians

Players

Raiders in the NHL

WHA

See also

References

External links