Women’s Hockey Hosts Double Split Weekend
After its first four home games in over a month, the Colgate women’s hockey team found itself with two weekend splits, leaving the women 6-7 on the year and 1-3 in the ECACHL. The Raiders faced off with second-ranked Dartmouth on November 19 at Starr Rink. Dartmouth jumped out to a 2-0 lead after two late first period goals, giving the Big Green the momentum heading into the second period. However, the unranked Raiders fought back six minutes into the period, as sophomore Tara French netted her first goal of the season, with assists by seniors Amanda Barre and Cheryl Setchell. Two minutes later, junior Becky Irvine put home a power play goal, her team-leading seventh goal of the season. Barre and first-year Cassie Reid were credited with assists, their seventh and third on the year, respectively. Unfortunately for Colgate, the scoring was not over in the period. The Big Green got on the board next with a goal at 12:01 of the period, but Colgate answered less than a minute later as Setchell found senior Maura Kehoe as she came out of the penalty box. Kehoe was able to find the back of the net on the breakaway for her first goal of the season. Dartmouth had the last laugh, however, as the team was able to slip the game-winning goal past sophomore goalie Brook Wheeler at the 14:01 mark. Colgate was only able to muster three shots in the third period, even though it had three power play opportunities. The game finished 4-3, with the undefeated Dartmouth team grabbing its fifth ECACHL of the year. Colgate was only able to get 14 shots on net, while Dartmouth pummeled Wheeler with 28. Wheeler, making her fifth start of the year, finished with 24 saves. Colgate avoided a losing streak by bouncing back against Vermont, a team that came into the game with a 2-11-1 record, including a 0-5 mark in the ECACHL. After a scoreless first period, Colgate jumped out to a lead in the second as Barre took passes from French and first-year Kara Leene at 14:44 to notch her fourth goal of the season. Colgate turned up the pressure in third, putting 13 shots on net, highlighted by Irvine giving the Raiders a 2-0 lead. As the defense stepped up for the Raiders, Vermont pulled its goalie for an extra attacker. This proved costly as Kehoe added her second goal of the weekend by guiding the puck into the empty Vermont net. Colgate finished the game with 27 shots, while Vermont only was able to get 19 off on senior netminder Rebecca Lahar, who finished with her second shutout of the season. The Raiders improved their record to 5-6 on the year after getting their first ECACHL win of the season. After splitting its first home ECACHL series of the year, Colgate traveled to Maine to face off against the Black Bears, who came into Hamilton with a 4-5-2 record. Lahar started in net for the second consecutive game, but Colgate lacked the offense to pull out the victory. The Raiders could not cash in on the power play once again, as they went 0-for-10 with the man advantage and only managed five shots. Colgate finished with 18 shots, 10 less than Maine, with Barre and junior Allison Paiano accounting for five shots each. Lahar finished with 26 saves as Colgate was unable to win its first match-up with Maine in eight tries. Colgate battled with Maine again in Sunday’s game, but Maine scored first at 14:03 of the first period. After finding themselves in a hole after one period of play, the Raiders fought back in a penalty-filled contest. Colgate benefited from the power play in the second period as the team scored two goals with a 5-on-3 advantage. Junior Hilary Foord scored her first goal of the season and Barre added her fifth just minutes before the period ended. Sophomore Ashley Johnston tallied her first point of the season at 4:58 of the third period, adding all the insurance that the Raiders would need. Colgate emerged with a 3-1 win, its sixth win of the season, despite only having 10 shots on net. Wheeler stopped 15 of the 16 shots she faced, improving her record to 3-3. In six starts this year, Wheeler has been impressive, posting a save percentage of .921 and only allowing 1.84 goals per game, which is the ninth lowest in the nation. Lahar is 3-4 on the year with a 2.29 GAA and a .910 save percentage. Colgate has two ECACHL games on the road this weekend. On Friday, the Raiders take on Princeton, which is ranked eighth in the nation with a 6-4-1 record. The Tigers, with victories over Providence and Brown this season, are 2-3 in the ECACHL after losing to Yale last week.The Raiders travel to New Haven, CT on Saturday to take on Yale, the surprise team of the ECACHL this season. The Bulldogs are 7-3 on the year, including a 5-2 record in the ECACHL, but the team is not ranked in the latest poll, despite coming into the weekend with a victory over Harvard and a four-game winning streak.