The Women’s Ice Hockey team wrapped up their season with two home contests, one against Princeton and the next against Quinnipiac. Colgate defeated Princeton 1-0, but lost 3-0 to Quinnipiac.

Friday’s matchup against Princeton began with a penalty-free and scoreless opening period. Colgate held the shooting advantage in the first period, but the team was unable to get on the scoreboard, despite a great chance on goal by first-year Kayla Haus right before the buzzer sounded.

In the middle frame, Princeton had a fast break opportunity early on, but sophomore goalie Ashlynne Rando came up with a huge save to keep the game scoreless. Not long afterwards, the Tigers were awarded the first power play of the game after a cross checking call on the Raiders. Princeton was unable to make anything happen, thanks to a strong Colgate defense and some big deflections. With under a minute

remaining in the period, Rando pulled through with another big save, grabbing the puck with her glove before Brianna Leahy’s shot reached the net.

Three minutes into the final period, first-year Hannah Rastrick finally put Colgate on the scoreboard with her first goal of her career. This was followed by some strong offensive plays on Princeton’s part, but Colgate was there at each attempt to keep the puck out of the net. Near the end of the game, Princeton was given a man-up opportunity after a tripping call on Colgate, but only managed to tally one shot due to Colgate’s tight defensive game. In the final two minutes, Princeton had two more shots on goal, but Rando blocked their final attempts to score, successfully completing her shutout and securing the win for the Raiders.

The following day, the Raiders lost to the Quinnipiac Bobcats, which unfortunately marked the end of the season for Colgate. Quinnipiac scored early in the first period, then added two more in the second period. Colgate had some strong final attempts in the third period, but did not ultimately score, giving Quinnipiac a 3-0 win.

As the season came to a close, I had the opportunity to hear from a few of the seniors about what they have learned and what they foresee in the future for Colgate women’s

ice hockey.

When asked what advice she would give to future Raiders, senior Megan Wickens stressed the importance of always going above and beyond.

“I would definitely advise them to keep pushing their own limits, and to keep testing their own abilities to achieve the maximum level of success for themselves and for the team (both on and off the ice),”

Wickens said.

Senior Jocelyn Simpson discussed something important that she learned

this season.

“I have learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way they handle losing. It isn’t easy and I think the team in the next few years has to work on staying positive despite the losses and figure out a way to turn the record around. Believing in yourself is key,” Simpson said.

Looking towards the future, Simpson also had advice for the team. “The team has a lot of skill that will allow them to beat any team if they put their minds to it, and I think we started to figure that out towards the end of the year. However, we learned that if we want to win we have to work really hard at it, because it won’t come easily. I hope teams in the future are able to balance the confidence needed to play and the humbleness of understanding hard work,” Simpson said.

When asked for a final remark on the season and her Colgate career as a whole, senior Rachel Walsh shed light on the significance that this experience has had

for her.

“Being a part of the Colgate women’s ice hockey team will be one of my greatest memories in life. I am so thankful for the opportunities I have been given and the people I have met through the hockey program. Although I have to move on, I will always be a Raider at heart,”

Walsh concluded.

The Raiders ninth place finish placed them just out of the postseason picture. Finishing three points behind Dartmouth, the Raiders failed to qualify for the ECAC

postseason tournament.

Contact Jack Murray at [email protected].