Women’s Hockey Falls Against Top-10 Foes

As the leaves change colors and the temperature drops, another athletic tradition begins: Colgate women’s ice hockey. The Raiders have higher expectations than ever before, as the team is looking to build off of a 14-7-1 ECAC mark. In their first game of the year last Friday, the Raiders were thwarted by the stellar play of eighth-ranked Boston College’s sophomore goaltender Molly Schaus, who made 27 saves in leading the Eagles to a 3-0 win.

Colgate outplayed and outshot Boston College, 10-7 in the first period, with sophomore Katie Stewart and junior Elin Brown getting Colgate’s best chances on goal. But with 12 seconds remaining, Boston College senior forward Deborah Spillane was able to put one past junior goalie Elayna Hamashuk. The second period was a back-and-forth battle between the two squads, with shots falling 9-8 in Boston College’s favor. However, the Eagles were able to make two of those shots count for goals. Junior forwards Meghan Fardelmann and Becky Zavisza scored at the 7:34 and 19:53 marks, respectively. The third period was a battle between goaltenders, with Hamashuk turning away eight shots and Schaus stopping nine. The Raiders showed a lot of promise by winning the face-off battle 33-26, and by thwarting all three of BC’s power play opportunities.

My three stars for the BC game were hard to decide because many players performed well, but here they are. The third star goes to Meghan Fardelmann, who got a goal and an assist on the night. My second star goes to Deborah Spillane, who matched Fardelmann’s efforts. The first star was an easy pick, as Molly Schaus recorded her sixth career shutout by turning away 27 Raider shots. An honorable mention goes to Elayna Hamashuk, who looked solid in making 21 saves on 24 shots.

The Raiders second game of the year, which was played at third-ranked New Hampshire last Sunday, produced the same lackluster scoring total as the first game. However, it did provide a glimpse into Colgate’s bright future. First-year goaltender Lisa Plenderleith made a whopping 41 saves in her collegiate debut. Her 41 stops put her at second-place in the Colgate record books for most saves by a women’s hockey goalie in a collegiate debut. Even though Colgate was outshot 31-10 through two periods and 42-23 for the game, the score remained tied at zero. The Raiders had their chances, including two shorthanded scoring opportunities by senior forward Kate Wolgemuth and junior Sam Hunt, but UNH first-year goalie Kayley Herman stoned both shots, as well as 21 others, to record her first career shutout. Unfortunately, the tie would not hold up. In a four-on-four situation, UNH junior forward Sam Farber put the puck past Plenderleith at the 17:59 mark. Kacey Bellamy and Martine Garland assisted Farber on the goal.

My third star for the game is Sam Farber. Plenderleith, who won the USCHO Defensive Player of the Week for her splendid game, is my second star. Lastly, Kayley Herman earns my first star for stopping 23 shots en route to her first career shutout.

“We played well and learned a lot, but we need to be able to play well for all 60 minutes of the game,” Head Coach Scott Wiley said. Wiley also pointed out that continued fan support for the “highly competitive and exciting” squad would be appreciated. Raider Nation can give that well-deserved support by coming out to Starr Rink Friday at 7 p.m. to watch the Raiders play Providence and Saturday at 4 p.m. to see Colgate host UConn.