The Colgate women’s ice hockey team played two home contests this weekend, coming out with their first league win of the season against Union as well as a loss to Rensselaer.

With a solid defensive game and a few quick goals, the Raiders did not waste any time in the opening period. Just 2:20 into the game, senior Jocelyn Simpson intercepted the puck at center ice, and with the help of junior Melissa Kueber, hit the back of the net to earn an early 1-0 lead. 13 seconds later, senior Rachel Walsh got the puck to junior Miriam Drubel, who scored her fifth goal of the season to give Colgate a 2-0 advantage.

In the final minute of the period, first-year Cat Quirion scored with the help of sophomore Katelyn Parker and senior Taylor Volpe. Quirion’s initial shot was deflected, but the puck made its way from Parker to Volpe, who then passed it back to Quirion for a second try, this time succeeding and bringing the score to 3-0

going into the second period.

With considerable confidence from the opening frame, the Raiders headed into the second period with the same ferocity. Midway through the period, Volpe scored Colgate’s fourth goal on a power play rebound with an assist from junior Taylor Craig. Seven minutes later, Walsh won a faceoff and fired a shot into the net with help from Drubel and sophomore Nicole Gass. Early in the final period, Kathryn Tomaselli scored Union’s single goal, but Colgate held them off for the remainder of the game, ending with a score of 5-1.

Colgate outshot Union 30-21, and junior goaltender Brittney Brooks stopped 20 of 21 shots to keep Colgate’s big lead throughout the game. “Getting the first league win was extremely important for team morale,” Drubel said on the team’s win. “We have been working really hard at putting a solid 60 minutes together but fell short in the games prior to Union, which led to us losing. When we played Union we won every puck battle and played a good 60 minutes together, never taking our foot off of

the pedal.

The following day, the Raiders took on the Rensselaer Engineers, losing the tough matchup 3-0. Despite having the shot advantage, Colgate couldn’t get the puck past  the Rensselaer goalie. After the Engineers were awarded a power play opportunity following a hooking call on the Raiders, the attack was nearly killed off but Rensselaer’s Laura Horwood successfully fired a shot past Brooks for the 1-0 lead.

Early in the following period, Lindsey Hylwa gained possession of the puck in a crowd of players right in front of the goal, pushing it to the back of the net to bring the score to 2-0. Colgate did what they could with two power play opportunities shortly thereafter, but unfortunately, neither was successful. 15:46 into the second period, Mari Mankey scored Rensselaer’s third and final goal.

In the final period, Rensselaer was called for interference and hooking, giving Colgate a 5-on-3 power play opportunity. But the Raiders couldn’t get the puck into the net despite shots from Walsh, Volpe, Drubel and senior Megan Wickens. In the final minutes of the contest, Rensselaer held their lead and finished the game with a score of 3-0. This weekend, the Raiders will hit the road and hope to pick up wins against Dartmouth and Harvard. They will travel to Hanover on Friday, November 15, at 7 p.m. and play in Cambridge on Saturday, November 16, at 4 p.m.         “If we continue to do that I think we can secure a good playoff spot,” Drubel said on the team’s postseason prospects early on in the season.

Contact Jack Murray at [email protected].