Over Thanksgiving break, the women’s hockey team stayed busy, playing one game against Syracuse and a two-game series against Vermont. Colgate fell short to Syracuse but tied with Vermont in both contests. Early in the Raiders’ matchup against the Syracuse Orange, senior Rachel Walsh had a great chance to score when she found herself with the puck right in front of the net, but the Syracuse goalie managed to reach out and deny the attempt. Not long afterwards, Syracuse blocked another strong attack when juniors Katie Case and Miriam Drubel shot and rebounded on the net.

With nine minutes to go in the first period, Syracuse broke away and had a shot on goal, but Colgate’s junior goalie Brittney Brooks made a big save to keep the Orange off the scoreboard. At the start of the middle frame, Brooks took heavy pressure from the Orange, making five quality stops in the first six minutes of the period. The Raiders finally got on the scoreboard with four minutes left in the second period, when Walsh made her way down the right wing and forced a shot on net. The shot was deflected, but Drubel was in position for the rebound, tapping the puck into the back of the net to give Colgate a 1-0 lead. With just 13 seconds left in the period, the Orange answered with a goal to tie up the game. Brooks blocked the initial shot, but the puck came loose and was fired into the net, putting the score at 1-1.

After a nearly scoreless final period, Syracuse broke through to score the game-winning goal with only 35 seconds remaining. The Orange made contact with the puck off of a rebound and hit the open net to win the contest 2-1.

Despite the Colgate loss, Brooks finished the game with 35 stops, 18 of which were in the third period alone.This past weekend, the Raiders took on the Vermont Catamounts in two home contests, tying both 2-2. In their first matchup, Vermont’s Sarah Campbell won a faceoff in the first two minutes of play, ultimately scoring off of a rebound after an initial save by sophomore goalie Ashlynne Rando. Colgate, down 0-1, successfully tied up the game just seven minutes later when sophomore Katelyn Parker rebounded first-year Cat Quirion’s blocked shot.

With the score all tied up at 1-1, Colgate headed into the second period with a man-up opportunity after a Vermont tripping penalty at the close of the first frame. Case and Walsh both made strong attempts on goal, but neither

managed to score. The Catamounts scored their second goal after being awarded a power play due to a checking call on the Raiders. The squad of Victoria Andreakos, Dayna Colang and Brittany Zuback pushed the puck forward and ultimately scored off of a deflection by Zuback, giving Vermont a 2-1 lead at the end of the second period.

Early in the final frame, Colgate fired four shots on goal, two of which came from junior Taylor Craig, but unfortunately the Raiders were unsuccessful in their attempts. Just a minute later, first-year Liz Trautz had an opportunity to score, but Catamount goalie Madison Litchfield blocked her shot to keep the score at 2-1. With 1:17 remaining in the period, Colgate decided to pull their goalie to allow for an extra skater, a decision that would pay off and give the Raiders another goal to tie up the game. Sophomore Nicole Gass, assisted by Volpe, ripped a shot that deflected off of a Vermont player into the back of the net, sending the tie game into overtime.

The Raiders had a chance to take the win when junior Melissa Kueber was tripped on a breakaway in overtime. As a result, Colgate was awarded a penalty shot, and Kueber stepped up to give an attempt. However, Litchfield had an amazing save to keep the game at a 2-2. The game ultimately ended in a tie as neither team managed to score another goal. The Raiders and the Catamounts got back on the ice the next day for their second matchup, which also ended in a 2-2 tie. Five minutes into the first period, Vermont took the lead when Amanda Pelkey scored on a wrap around. In the rest of the period both teams had ensuing power plays, but neither ended up scoring. The Catamounts racked up another goal in the second period when Danielle Rancourt made contact with a rebound in front, firing the puck past Brooks to secure a 2-0 lead. Colgate then had a great 5-on-3 opportunity, but Vermont’s goalie Roxanne Douville stopped three shots to maintain the lead going into the final period.

With less than eight minutes remaining in the game, the Raiders had a huge comeback, scoring two goals just 29 seconds apart. For the first of the two, Volpe got the puck from Kueber and wristed it past Douville to get Colgate on the scoreboard. In a power play following the goal, Craig gained control of the puck after a scrum in front of the goal, hitting an open net and tying the game 2-2. In overtime, Colgate took three unsuccessful shots on a power play that carried over from the third period, but they also held Vermont scoreless on three opportunities. The game ended in a 2-2 tie, but Colgate finished with a 30-26 shot

advantage over Vermont. The Raiders won’t be back in action until the New Year, taking on Yale in an away

contest on January 3.

Contact Jack Murray at [email protected].