Over the weekend, the Colgate women’s ice hockey squad hit the road and played games against Rensselaer and Union. After a tough weekend against Cornell, the Raiders came out on top with two wins: 3-1 against the Rensselaer Engineers and 4-1 against the Union Dutchwomen.

Despite their reputation as a hard, physical team, Rensselaer fell short to Colgate in the first game of the week. 2:30 into the first period, the Engineers were awarded a man-up opportunity after an interference call on the Raiders. However, Rensselaer was unable to get the puck past Colgate’s strong defense, keeping the game scoreless until the eleven-minute mark. In the following minutes, both teams had opportunities to score, but neither team found the back of the net until the Engineers fired a shot past sophomore goalie Ashlynne Rando 11:02 into the period. Just 37 seconds later, the Raiders answered with a goal by senior Jocelyn Simpson, bringing the score to a 1-1 tie.

Five minutes into the second period, Colgate took advantage of a power play after Rensselaer was called for interference. Senior Rachel Walsh gained control of the loose puck in front of the net and ripped a shot past Rensselaer goalie Kelly O’Brien. Rensselaer was given another man up opportunity late in the middle frame after a hooking call on Colgate, but all three of their shots were killed off by the Raiders. Colgate held onto their 2-1 lead as the game entered the final period.

In the third period, Rensselaer had two good chances to score and tie the game, but junior Katie Case blocked both shots to keep Colgate in the lead. After another unsuccessful Rensselaer power play, Colgate secured the 3-1 win when Walsh scored her second goal of the day from between the circles. All in all, the Raiders executed multiple big plays and big saves to come out above the Engineers.           

The next day, Colgate took on Union in Schenectady, NY, continuing to be dominant and ultimately finishing with another win. The game opened with a good chance on goal by Walsh on an early penalty shot, but Union goalie Shenae Lundberg managed to block it to keep the game scoreless. Not long after, at the 12:31 mark, junior Miriam Drubel scored off of a rebounded shot from Simpson on a power play, putting the Raiders on the scoreboard for the initial lead.

About halfway through the second period, Colgate tallied another goal on a power play when Walsh scored her third goal of the weekend, assisted by Drubel and sophomore Nicole Gass. The Raiders maintained their 2-0 lead for the remainder of the middle frame, holding onto their advantage as they entered the final period.

Union was called for hooking midway through the third period and Colgate was awarded yet another power play, allowing junior Katie Case to find the back of the net and bring the score to 3-0. Four minutes later, Union answered with a goal on the power play, taking away Colgate’s hopes of a shutout. However, the Raiders continued to execute a strong defensive game to kill off the Dutchwomen’s opportunities to score after they pulled their goalie with less than two minutes remaining. After a tripping call on Union, Drubel found the open net to secure the 4-1 win for the Raiders. This marked Colgate’s second weekend sweep of the year, thanks to smart and dominant play by the team as a whole.This weekend, Colgate will wrap up their regular season as they host Princeton on Friday at 7 p.m. and Quinnipiac on Saturday at 4 p.m., respectively.

Contact Jack Murrayat [email protected].