Over the past few years, the Colgate University women’s ice hockey team has established themselves as the team to beat in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC). Coming off of three straight conference tournament championships, they look to repeat that success this year and go deep in the NCAA tournament, where they reached the Elite Eight last season. With a mix of returning starters and first-years ready to hit the ground running and contribute, the Class of 1965 Arena is going to be an exciting place to be over the next few months as the Raiders move into the 2023-24 season.
Last season, Colgate finished with an overall record of 32-6-2, with an impressive 18-3-1 record in conference play. Those performances earned them the third seed in the NCAA tournament. They were also ranked in the top ten nationally for the entire season and had six players named to all-league teams. Coming off of such a historically impressive season, the team looks to try and improve on an already-stellar foundation that they’ve built.
Sitting at 1-1 after splitting two games against two-seed Ohio State University, the team has a few weeks of non-conference play ahead of them before their first ECAC game versus Rensselaer on Oct. 27. Colgate, currently ranked fourth in the nation, won the first game against the Buckeyes in dramatic fashion, with first-year forward Emma Pais netting the game-winning goal with 39 seconds remaining to put the Raiders on top 3-2. Colgate held onto a 2-0 lead in the first period before Ohio State equalized in the third, but Pais’ goal was enough to secure the victory. The second game was equally thrilling despite the Raiders’ loss, as third-period goals from junior forward Neena Brick and senior forward Kristýna “Kalty” Kaltounková forced overtime before a Buckeye goal ended the Raiders’ comeback. Regardless, it was a positive start for the team against a formidable opponent.
After a long summer, the team is ready to get back into the season, a sentiment echoed by Kaltounková, who is entering her last season.
“I am happy to be back on the ice with my teammates and get started,” she said. “We [have] many good matchups this year so there is a lot to look forward to.”
While the team certainly has lofty goals in mind for the season, they have the savviness to understand the importance of taking a patient, pragmatic approach through each week.
“Although we have winning the national championship in mind, we focus on one day at a time and don’t look too far ahead,” Kaltounková said.
Head Coach Greg Fargo, entering his 12th season with the team, recruited six new first-years to join the team, after some big losses of experienced seniors who graduated last year. The Raiders won the ECAC tournament last year but finished second to Yale University in the regular season, so beating them is surely at the top of their to-do list for this season.
First-year Madeline Palumbo is particularly eager coming into her first collegiate season.
“I am super excited to play with this group of girls,” Palumbo said. “I think we have an amazing team this year and I am excited to see what we can accomplish.”
Senior Goalie Kayle Osborne echoed these sentiments.
“I think the team has the opportunity to do something great this year,” Osborne said. “We have a lot of [first-years] who have come in and already made an impact, and we are also a veteran team returning a lot of seniors and fifth years.”
Overall, the women’s hockey team has been a consistently exciting team to watch over the past few seasons, and this year looks to be no different. The talented first-years being led by a team that has won three consecutive ECAC tournaments are sure to have good leadership as they grow into their roles throughout the season. The Class of 1965 Arena is going to be electric on Friday and Saturday nights over the next few months as the Raiders look to leave their opponents in an icy dust.
