The Colgate women’s ice hockey team lost the first of a two-game series to their ECAC rival, No. 2 Cornell, 6-1 on Friday night. Sophomore Brittany Phillips scored the lone goal for the Raiders in the final two minutes of the game. The next after­noon in Starr Rink the Raiders dropped the second game of the two-game set against the Big Red, 5-0.

In Friday’s game, the Cornell Big Red was off to a quick start, dominating the game and firing several shots on goal. Cornell’s aggressive play soon paid off, scoring two quick goals six minutes into the game, one of which was scored off a power play, putting the score at 2-0.

Although the Raiders were down by a two-goal deficit, they continued to search for a goal as they attempted to create some momentum in their offense. However, it was Cornell who found two more goals, the first from a power play at the 11:55 mark and then the second at the 18:05 mark, giving the Big Red a 4-0 lead after the first period.

In the second frame, the initial effort was more equal; both teams were playing aggressively and creating scoring oppor­tunities in front of their opponent’s net. As the period progressed, Cornell began to find its rhythm once again and the Raiders were forced to continuously ex­ecute important defensive plays one after another to keep themselves in the game. Their efforts proved to be successful as they prevented the Big Red from scoring.

Trailing by a four-goal deficit, Colgate came into the final period looking for a way to give the offense some momentum with a debut goal. However, as the period progressed, the Raiders soon found them­selves on the defensive once again. At the 10:28 mark, Cornell found a third power-play goal, leaving the Big Red with 5-0 advantage. With five minutes left in the final frame, both teams were hungry to score. The Big Red struck first with a goal at the 16:37 mark. But soon after, Colgate finally found its first goal with just 1:34 left on the clock. Phillips scored the goal. Unfortunately, with less than a minute to spare, it was too late for the Raiders to make a comeback, and they walked away with a 6-1 defeat.

The following afternoon, the Big Red traveled to Hamilton as the Raid­ers hosted the series finale. The first pe­riod started off in Cornell’s favor, as the visitors opened the game with a series of scoring opportunities. Shortly into the first frame, Cornell found the net at the 5:16 mark to take a 1-0 lead. However, Colgate found its own offensive rhythm soon after, creating close scoring opportu­nities in front of the Big Red’s net mid­way through the period. Unfortunately, Colgate was still unable to capitalize on the opportunities. The Big Red eventually found another goal during its third power play advantage in the final two minutes of the period, putting the score at 2-0.

Cornell started the second frame by aggressively attacking Colgate’s net. With some strong defensive blocks, the Raiders were able to keep themselves in the game.

Midway through the half, Colgate’s of­fense started to gain momentum, which almost lead to the Raiders’ first goal when first-year Rachel Walsh deflected a shot from junior Kristi-Lyn Pollock that hit the pipe. With the pressure of a near miss, Cor­nell retaliated with a third goal at the 14:19 mark to put the score at 3-0.

The Big Red went on to score two more goals in the final frame, the first being at the 4:07 mark and the second at the 16:27 mark, leaving Cornell with a 5-0 win and a sweep of the two-game series.

The Raiders will Light Up Starr Rink Blue for their next two games when they host Rensselaer this Friday at 7 p.m. and Union on Saturday at 4 p.m. The Raiders will be wearing special puzzle-piece jerseys as part of their Autism Awareness Project, which will be auctioned off online after the Union game. The game will be televised on Time Warner Cable Sports.