This past weekend, the women’s hockey team closed out an extraordinary season in the ECAC Hockey Semifinals, falling to the nation’s fifth-ranked team, the Clarkson University Golden Knights. After a tough battle, the game which took place in Hamden, Ct. concluded with a score of 5-2. The game was hard fought and brought an end to one of the best seasons the Raiders have had to date.

The game kicked off at 4 p.m., with both teams coming out of the gate with great fervor. Early in the first period, the Golden Knights pulled into the lead and put a point on the board when in the seventh minute, senior forward and captain Shannon MacAulay took advantage of a power-play opportunity, with the assist going to senior defender Erin Ambrose. Later on in the period, Colgate fought back in an effort to catch up to the home team, scoring in the 18th minute to bring the teams even. The Raiders’ first goal of the game was produced by sophomore forward Megan Sullivan, who was assisted by first-year defender Olivia Zafuto. Less than a minute later, the Raiders surged into the lead when sophomore forward and captain Annika Zalewski scored thanks to an assist by first-year forward Shae Labbe. As the first period drew to a close, the Raiders were up 2-1. 

However, the Golden Knights quickly regained lost ground and tied up the competition just three minutes into the second period, when the team was given another power-play opportunity. MacAulay scored her second goal of the game after being assisted by junior forward Cayley Mercer. In the period’s 11th minute, Clarkson surged back into the lead when junior forward Jessica Gillham notched her first goal of the game, having been assisted by first-year defender Josiane Pozzebon and first-year forward Cassidy Vinkle. Though the home team would receive one more power-play opportunity in the game’s second period, this would be the last goal of the period. As the third period commenced, the Golden Knights continued to widen their lead over the Raiders. In the 13th minute, Ambrose scored her first goal of the game, with the assist going to Mercer, which would be her second of the competition. The game’s final goal would come in the 17th minute, when Pozzebon scored her first goal of the afternoon. The assist was awarded to sophomore forward Amanda Titus. This goal would bring the final tally to 5-2, with the victory going to the Golden Knights.

Although Colgate was unsuccessful in the semifinal, it finished out a phenomenal season with an overall record of 22-9-7 and a winning percentage of .671. Each of these statistics are record-setting accomplishments for the program. When asked about the team’s progress over the course of this exemplary season, head coach Greg Fargo had some interesting insight. 

“This has been an incredible year for our program[…] We had some ups and downs, we had some tough losses, some great wins, but we always responded in the right way. Not just proud of the play on the ice but more importantly just the people in and around our program it’s at an all-time high and I couldn’t be more proud of the group,” Fargo said.  

The Clarkson University Golden Knights, whose record now stands at 29-3-5, will advance to the championship game, where they will be hosted by the Quinnipiac Bobcats this coming Sunday. The puck drops at 2 p.m.