April 18, 2012
Complete Notes (PDF) 
LEWISBURG, Pa. -- Bucknell and Colgate get together Friday night at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium on their traditional regular-season finale date, and as is usually the case, there is plenty riding on the outcome. The 7 p.m. contest will be preceded by Senior Night ceremonies, and the game will air live on CBS Sports Network.
The 13th-ranked Raiders are tied for first place with Lehigh at 4-1, and having already beaten the Mountain Hawks, Colgate can secure the regular-season title and No. 1 seed at next week's Patriot League Tournament with a victory over 18th-ranked Bucknell. While the Bison have clinched one of the four tourney berths, they were eliminated from contention for the No. 1 seed with last week's last-minute 9-8 loss at Lehigh. Bucknell enters the weekend in the No. 4 position but can move up with a victory over Colgate and an Army loss to Holy Cross on Saturday.
The Bucknell-Colgate game is a rematch of the 2011 Patriot League championship tilt, won by the Bison 10-3 at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium. Bucknell has won four straight against the Raiders and leads the all-time series 20-10.
With a Win over Colgate, Bucknell Would ...
• ... defeat the Raiders for the fifth straight time.
• ... win its 10th game in the last 12 outings.
• ... reach double-digit victories for the seventh time in program history.
• ... improve to 6-2 at home this season.
• ... improve to 59-20 in Patriot League play over the last 13 seasons.
Last Time Out
• Bucknell dropped a heartbreaker at Lehigh last Saturday, falling 9-8 on Dante Fantoni's goal with 13.8 seconds remaining in the game.
• Bucknell led 5-3 at the half. Lehigh scored all three third-quarter goals to go up 6-5, but the Bison went back ahead 7-6 on goals by David Dickson and Peter Burke early in the fourth. Billy Eisenreich's goal with 4:07 snapped a 7-7 tie, but Lehigh's Ryan Snyder scored directly off the ensuing faceoff to make it 8-8. Bucknell had a late possession but turned it over, setting up Fantoni's game-winner.
• Eisenreich paced the Bison offense with two goals and two assists, while Burke and Dickson also scored twice. Kyle Feeney made nine saves, but Bucknell won only five of the 13 faceoffs and converted just 1 of 6 EMO chances.
• Lehigh snapped a six-game losing streak against Bucknell.
Last Season vs. Colgate
• Bucknell went 2-0 against Colgate last season, winning 12-7 in Hamilton to end the regular season, followed by a 10-3 victory in the Patriot League championship game.
• In a winner-take-all scenario, Bucknell completed a perfect 6-0 Patriot League regular season and clinched the No. 1 seed in the Patriot League Tournament with the victory at Andy Kerr Stadium. Mike Danylyshyn scored four goals and the Bison defense held Colgate scoreless for more than 38 minutes after a wild first quarter. The Raiders led 4-1 early on and 5-4 after one period, but the Bison scored nine straight goals to take command of the contest.
• In the championship game, the Bison took control early, leading 5-1 after the first quarter. It was a 6-2 game at the half, then Bucknell outscored Colgate 3-0 in the third to put the game away. Charlie Streep tallied three goals and an assist en route to Tournament MVP honors. Kyle Feeney made nine saves to backstop a suffocating defensive effort.
• In the two games against Colgate last season, Bucknell held Raiders scoring whiz Peter Baum without a goal on 10 shots. Baum did have three assists.
Close Losses
• Bucknell's five losses this season have come by a total of six goals. Three of the setbacks came in overtime (Delaware, Villanova, Army) and another (Lehigh) came on a goal with 13.8 seconds left in regulation.
• Bucknell's last 17 losses, dating back to early 2009, have all been by a margin of either one or two goals (13 by one goal, 4 by two goals), and seven of those losses have come in overtime.
• The last team to beat the Bison by more than two goals was fourth-ranked Notre Dame, which defeated Bucknell 10-6 on March 12, 2009 (and that was a 7-6 game in the fourth quarter before the Irish tacked on some late insurance goals). The Bison have played 56 games since then.
• The last time Bucknell lost a game by more than two goals at home was March 25, 2007, when the Bison fell 6-3 to Navy.
Patriot League Tournament Scenarios
• Colgate and Lehigh are the only two teams remaining with a shot to host the Patriot League Tournament. Simply, if Colgate defeats Bucknell on Friday, the Raiders are the No. 1 seed. If Bucknell wins, Lehigh is No. 1, regarless of the outcome of Saturday's games (Holy Cross at Army, Lehigh at Lafayette).
• The only way for Bucknell to avoid being the No. 4 seed is to beat Colgate and then have Holy Cross win at Army.
• Here are the seedings based on possible scenarios for this weekend:
If Bucknell, Lehigh and Army win: Lehigh 1, Colgate 2, Army 3, Bucknell 4
If Bucknell, Lehigh and HC win: Lehigh 1, Bucknell 2, Colgate 3, Army 4
If Bucknell, Lafayette and Army win: Lehigh 1, Colgate 2, Army 3, Bucknell 4
If Bucknell, Lafayette and HC win: Lehigh 1, Colgate 2, Bucknell 3, Army 4
If Colgate wins, no matter what happens in the other games, the seeds are: Colgate 1, Lehigh 2, Army 3, Bucknell 4
Getting Offensive
• Bucknell's offense has been on a roll for most of the season. The Bison scored at least nine goals in each of their first 11 games of the year.
• The Bison rank 14th nationally in scoring offense, and they rank second in the nation in shooting percentage.
• Individually, Billy Eisenreich ranks sixth nationally in assists per game and fifth in points per game; Todd Heritage ranks 20th in goals per game; and Chase Bailey and Heritage rank third and 12th, respectively, in shooting percentage.
Eisenreich Joins 30-30 Club, Moves Up on Bucknell Scoring Chart
• With his two goals and two assists last week at Lehigh, Billy Eisenreich now has 30 goals and 31 assists for 61 points on the season. He currently is the only Division I player with 30 goals and 30 assists this season, and he is only the third Bucknell player ever to accomplish the feat. Eisenreich is also just the seventh player in program history to record 60 points in a season.
Bucknell Players with 30 Goals, 30 Assists in a Season
Player Year Goals Assists Points
Billy Eisenreich 2012 30 31 61
Chris Cara 2004 38 40 78
Jon Romm 1990 45 31 76
Bucknell Single-Season Points Leaders
Player Year Goals Assists Points
1. Justin Zackey 1993 63 16 79
2. Chris Cara 2004 38 40 78
3. Jon Romm 1990 45 31 76
4. Chris Cara 2005 29 37 66
4. P. von Hoffmann 1979 29 37 66
6. Billy Eisenreich 2012 30 31 61
6. Justin Zackey 2012 44 17 61
8. P. von Hoffmann 1977 21 37 58
9. Jim Ball 1979 44 13 57
10. Chris Cara 2002 25 31 56
More on Eisenreich
• As a freshman at Bucknell in 2009, Billy Eisenreich played in 12 games as Bucknell's fourth attackman and produced four goals and an assist. He showed steady improvement as a midfielder in 2010 and 2011, culminating in First Team All-Patriot League honors as a middie last season, when he logged 18 goals and 15 assists in 13 games.
• This season, Eisenreich moved back to attack, and as Bucknell's primary playmaker has been one of the nation's top scorers. Buoyed by an 11-point game against Robert Morris, Eisenreich has already crushed his career highs in every offensive category.
• Eisenreich has recorded multiple points in every game this season.
Patriot League Success
• Bucknell is 58-20 (.744) in the Patriot League (regular season) since the start of the 2000 season.
• Prior to the advent of the Patriot League Tournament, Bucknell won or shared PL titles in 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003. The Bison won outright championships in 1996 and 2001.
• In 1996, despite a 12-0 overall record, they were passed over for an NCAA Tournament bid, but in 2001 Bucknell received its very first NCAA invitation. That season the Bison fell to Notre Dame in the first round at West Point, N.Y.
• The Bison lost in the Patriot League Tournament championship game in both 2008 (to Colgate) and 2009 (to Navy). Last year they won the postseason tournament for the first time.
Senior Speaking
• Each of the last four senior classes has broken the school mark for victories by a class, and this year's group is two wins shy of making it five in a row.
Winningest Bucknell Senior Classes
1. Class of 2011 41
2. Class of 2012 40
3. Class of 2010 38
4. Class of 2009 36
5. Class of 2008 35
• The senior class of Billy Eisenreich, Nick Gantsoudes, Jason Neithamer, John Scally, Matt Spagnoli, Charlie Streep, Thomas Thibeault and Andrew Van Valkenburg will be honored prior to the game.
On the Horizon
• The Patriot League Tournament will be contested next Friday and Sunday at the home of the highest-seeded team. Friday's semifinal games are slated for 5 and 8 p.m., with the championship game set for Sunday at 3 p.m. All three tourney games will air live on CBS Sports Network.
