Two years ago, the Red Raiders were one of the most dangerous teams in the conference, finishing ninth in the final USA Today/American Hockey Magazine poll. Last year, they were merely a speed bump in the ECAC, finishing 11th in the standings with a 10-20-4 (8-13-1 ECAC) record and missing the playoffs for the first time in 17 years. This year, look for the Red Raiders to climb the conference ladder, but not too high.
Having graduated much of their offensive talent, Colgate needs to develop their young talent, and quickly. They open the season with two series, one against Nebraska-Omaha (CCHA) at home, the second against Minnesota (WCHA) at Mariucci Arena in Minneapolis. Both teams won over 20 games last season, finishing in the top five of their respective conferences.
Life after Andy McDonald and Darryl Campbell will be different, as Head Coach Don Vaughan already knows. But with only one 20-point scorer returning in Scooter Smith (10-14-24), offense must be a focus in the preseason. P.J. Yedon (6-7-13) and Kyle Doyle (6-7-13) will need to emerge as the draw men for Colgate, while Etienne Morin (9-7-16) will need to become more of an offensive threat.
On defense, Rob Brown (1-10-11) and Ben Bryce (1-7-8) will need to have career years and prevent offensive-minded teams from bombarding sophomore David Cann (2.74, 0.895, 5-9-0) and senior Jason LeFevre (3.47, 0.876, 5-11-4) with shots. Cann emerged as the more reliable goalie near the end of the season, but considerable improvement is necessary for either of them to survive at the collegiate level.
