The Colgate women’s hockey team entered last weekend playing great and riding a six game unbeaten streak. With a pair of huge games coming up against Dartmouth and Harvard, the ECACHL leaders, the Raiders hoped to add two more impressive victories to their r?esum?e against league foes St. Lawrence and Clarkson. Unfortunately, things did not go as planned for the women in maroon.

Colgate took its unbeaten streak to Canton, New York for a game against St. Lawrence, the fourth-ranked team in the nation. That lofty ranking, however, did not intimidate the Raiders, who have played a number of top-ranked teams this season. One of those teams is St. Lawrence, who they beat 3-2 last November.

This time around, the Saints were ready for the Raiders. The first period was closely contested as both sides had a number of chances, but only St. Lawrence was able to capitalize, taking a 1-0 lead into the intermission. Two Saint goals within 75 seconds in the second period doomed Colgate, as the 3-0 lead proved to be an impossible hurdle. A third period tally left the final score at 4-0.

Despite giving up four goals, senior goalie Brook Wheeler made a number of great saves for Colgate. Additionally, the Raiders killed off six of the seven penalties they committed.

After the disappointment of a league loss, the first suffered by Colgate since November 24, the team traveled to Clarkson. The Golden Knights were the last ECAC team to beat the Raiders, defeating them in a 2-1 overtime game at Starr Rink. With that crushing defeat still in their minds, the Raiders looked to even the season series and help their postseason chances.

Once again, the Golden Knights proved to be too tough. After a scoreless first period, Clarkson took advantage of the fifth Raider penalty of the game, converting on the power play to take the 1-0 lead.

Sophomore goalie Elayna Hamashuk played great in goal, allowing only that lone tally, but that proved to be enough as the Colgate offense disappeared for the second consecutive game. After scoring 26 goals during their six game unbeaten streak, the Raiders were held scoreless over the weekend.

Finding an explanation for the performance was difficult, especially for sophomore Sam Hunt, the team’s most explosive offensive force.

“This weekend was definitely not our best weekend. A lot of players on our team were sick, but I think it was mostly because of a lack of focus and desire,” Hunt said. “I think that we overlooked SLU and Clarkson to an extent. I think we expected to beat Clarkson and were not properly prepared for them.”

All is not lost for the Raiders, however, as they play host to the top two teams in the ECACHL in the biggest set of games this season for Colgate women’s hockey.

“It would be amazing to get some fan support for our last home weekend of the regular season especially since we are playing two of the top teams in our conference.” Hunt said,

Dartmouth comes to Hamilton for a 7 p.m. contest on Friday, while Harvard plays a matinee at 4 p.m. Saturday.