Women’s Hockey Goes Undefeated Against ECAC Pair
After a tough two games against Cornell University, the Colgate Women’s Hockey team was back on home ice this past weekend, Febuary 1 and 2, to face off against Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) and Union College, respectively. Friday night’s game against RPI was particularly special because it was the Raiders’ annual Autism Awareness night.
The Raiders got on the board quickly with sophomore forward Kendall Williamson scoring Colgate’s first goal assisted by first-year forward Delani Mackay. The Raiders continued to dominate play and gained a power play advantage with nine minutes left in the first period.
First-year forward Rosalie Demers scored the power play goal to double the Colgate lead. Demers’ goal was assisted by sophomore forward Coralie Larose and senior forward Jessie Eldridge. The Raiders finished out the period with a 2-0 lead over the Engineers of RPI.
Eight minutes into the second period, RPI cut Colgate’s lead down to a single goal, but the Raiders continued to keep the pressure on, finishing out the second period on top 2-1.
Six minutes into the third period, the Colgate seniors had to work to give the Raiders their two-goal lead back. Senior forward Shae Labbe scored a goal with assists by Eldridge and senior defensewoman Olivia Zafuto. RPI fought back, but Colgate did not let up with senior goaltender Julia Vandyk making crucial saves to keep the Colgate lead.
With just over a minute left in the game, Eldridge tallied her third point of the night with a goal assisted by Bailey Larson and Larose. The Raiders ended the game with a 4-1 win, outshooting RPI 30-14.
On Saturday, February 2, the Raiders faced off against the Dutch Women of Union College. Union got off to a quick start, scoring two goals in the first 15 minutes of the game to get on top of the Raiders 2-0. But, it was all Colgate after that. With one minute left in the first period, sophomore forward Malia Schneider got the Raiders on the board with assists from Labbe and Zafuto.
Six minutes into the second period, first-year Tanner Gates picked up the Colgate power play goal to tie the game 2-2. She was assisted by two fellow first- years, Mackay and Demers.
Seven minutes later, Malia Schneider picked up her second goal of the game to give the Raiders their first lead of the afternoon. Labbe and Gates picked up assists on the goal.
Eldridge topped off the Raiders’ dominating second period with a goal assisted by Labbe and Schneider to double the Colgate lead going into the final period.
Twelve minutes into the third period, Schneider tallied her third goal and fourth point of the night to complete the hat trick. Eldridge assisted the goal. The Raiders finished off the day with a 5-2 win over Union College to complete the weekend sweep.
Colgate’s next game is Friday, February 8, at 6 p.m. against St. Lawrence in Canton, New York. The Raiders then head to Potsdam, New York to face off against Clarkson on Saturday at 3 p.m. You can catch the Raiders on ESPN+. The Raiders are No.10 in the nation and are currently in fourth in the ECAC, standing five points outside of first place.
Contact Jack Breitowich at [email protected].