The Producers will be at Atlantic City this weekend, hoping to be a smashing success. No, it’s not an adaptation of the Broadway musical, but rather the top line of the IJʿ men’s hockey team that looks to lead the Raiders to the ECAC Hockey championship.
The Raiders, ranked No. 20 in the USCHO national poll, play Union College in a semifinal game at 4:30 p.m. Friday in Broadway Hall.
A victory, which would surely be sweet music to the ears of Raider Nation, would advance IJʿ to the Saturday night championship game against either Cornell or Harvard.
The Raiders have relied on its “Producers” line of Joe Wilson, Chris Wagner, and Austin Smith this season. The trio has accumulated 128 points on 61 goals and 60 assists. Wagner recently joined Smith as one of seven players in the nation to reach 50 points this year.
Smith is the nation’s leading goal-scorer, netting his 36th goal of the season Sunday against Quinnipiac in the Raiders’ 4-0 victory that propelled them into the semis at Atlantic City.
Union coach Rick Bennett told USCHO columnist that while the Producers line is surely potent, there’s more to the Raiders than just those three players.
“They have a lot of depth,” Bennett said. “Jeremy Price is one of the best defensemen in our league. He’s a hybrid-type player and he’s tough to play against.”
Raiders coach Don Vaughan pointed out the importance of the all-senior line of Matt Firman, Austin Mayer and Nick Prockow.
“We broke them up when we were having a little bit of a slump,” Vaughan said. But the trio has been playing together recently, and with good results. “They don’t put up huge offensive numbers,” Vaughn added. “But they do a good job of controlling the offensive boards.”
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