Colgate Men’s Hockey Opens Season Against Boston University

The Colgate University men’s hockey team begins its 2025-26 season today with a road matchup against Boston University, marking the first contest between the two programs in nine years.

The Raiders are looking to build upon a successful 2024-25 campaign where they finished with an 18-15-3 overall record and a 13-7-2 mark in ECAC play, ultimately falling in the conference quarterfinals to Cornell. Colgate returns a strong core of players and welcomes seven newcomers to the roster. Head Coach Mike Harder, entering his third season, boasts a 34-31-7 career record and has guided the team to top-four finishes in the ECAC the past two years.

Key players to watch include sophomore forward Max Nagel, the team’s leading returning scorer with 24 points last season, and sophomore defenseman Joshua Niedermayer, son of Hockey Hall of Famer Scott Niedermayer. Sophomore Michael Neumeier, the ECAC Rookie of the Year, will anchor the defense, while senior goalie Andrew Takacs, who posted a 2.77 goals-against average and a .903 save percentage in 2024-25, will share netminding duties with freshman Reid Dyck. Strong goaltending is often a key ingredient for success in college hockey, as highlighted by NCAA ice hockey standings.

Colgate was recently ranked seventh in the ECAC preseason poll. “We finished in third place last year and top four in the last two years so we expect to better that,” Harder said. “We have a good group, I like us from the net out. We are a great hockey club and we will be well prepared.” The Raiders will return home next weekend to face Canisius at Class of 1965 Arena.