Men’s Ice Hockey Looks to Improve in ECAC
For the Colgate men’s ice hockey team, the 2012-2013 season was tough and underwhelming. The season finished on March 9 after two losses against the St. Lawrence Saints during the first round of the ECAC tournament.
Overall, the Raiders won 14 games, lost 18 and tied 4. Six of these wins, 13 of the losses and three of the ties were during ECAC conference games. The atmosphere of Starr Rink and home support boded well for the Raiders this year – 11 of their 14 wins occurred at home.
First-years Kyle Baun and Tylor Spink were the top scorers of the team, with 14 and 13 goals respectively. First-year Darcy Murphy and senior Robbie Bourdon both scored ten goals during the season. Tylor Spink, however, also recorded the most minutes in the penalty box, serving a total of 61 minutes throughout the season. Bourdon tallied the second-highest number of minutes at 58, and senior captain Thomas Larkin followed with 53.
The Raiders recently announced that senior captains Larkin and Jeremy Price both signed deals with the American Hockey League (AHL), in which teams are affiliated with National Hockey League (NHL) teams and players are sometimes “called up” to play with their NHL counterparts. Price signed with the Chicago Wolves, who are affiliated with the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks, and Larkin signed with the Springfield Falcons, affiliates of the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets.
Captains for next year were also announced. Sophomore Spiro Goulakos will serve as primary captain, with sophomore Joe Wilson assisting.
Goulakos reflected on the past season, noting the generally
underwhelming record of the Raiders.
“Last year was a roller coaster of a year – we started off pretty strong and were poised to make a long run in the playoffs,” Goulakos said. “We had a lot of momentum going into the Christmas break, but when we came back, we just couldn’t seem to catch any bounces. We definitely underachieved as a group and I think as a team we expected way more.”
However, Goulakos anticipates a more successful season next year – the remaining players are eager to outskate this year’s records, and incoming first-years could provide strength, too.
“We learned a lot of valuable lessons that will certainly help the returning guys next season. We have a solid core coming back and seeing Yale and
Quinnipiac in the finals of the NCAA Frozen Four has us all eager to hit the ice again, and prove that we can not only compete, but beat the top teams in the
country,” Goulakos said.
“We are definitely capable of bringing home an ECAC title, and getting a seat in the NCAA tournament – these are both very realistic goals for
our team.”
Contact Selina Koller