Colgate women’s hockey took an extended break from competitive action over the winter break, going 28 days without a game before facing No. 10 Syracuse on January 2. The Raiders upset the Orange in Syracuse, winning 5-4 in overtime on a goal from first-year Brittany Phillips with ten seconds remaining. The following weekend, Colgate split a weekend series with another upstate rival in Niagara, losing 7-2 the first night, and winning 5-3 the second night.

Following the out of conference play, Colgate headed on a road trip to conference foes Dartmouth and Harvard. The Raiders defeated Dartmouth, 6-4 and fell to Harvard, 5-1.

On January 15, Colgate travelled to Hanover, NH, for a conference match with the Dartmouth Big Green, who had not won an ECAC Hockey game since late November. Colgate opened the scoring at the 6:55 mark of the first period, with a goal from first-year defender Jordan Brickner. Dartmouth responded with a power play goal just over seven minutes later, but a power-play goal from Colgate’s first-year forward Jenna Klystra with 28 seconds left in the first period gave the Raiders a 2-1 advantage going into the first intermission.

The second period was filled with offense, with the teams registering a combined 32 shots. Colgate added to their lead at the 11:01 mark, on a goal from Phillips. 29 seconds later, senior forward Katie Stewart added to the advantage and forced Dartmouth to pull their starting goaltender. A Beth Rotenberg goal three minutes later gave Colgate a 5-1 lead that made it seem as though the rest of the game would be smooth sailing. The Big Green, however, had other plans. Dartmouth added two goals in the last minute and a half of the period, setting the stage for a tense third period.

Colgate managed to tally the first score of the third period, with Stewart adding her second goal of the game to stake the Raiders to a 6-3 lead. After the goal, the Raiders went into a defensive shell for the remainder of the contest, taking only six shots total throughout the entire third period. Dartmouth put 13 shots on junior goaltender Lisa Plenderleith’s net in the third period, and it was not until the 18:14 mark of the period that one got past her, but by then, the match was out of Dartmouth’s reach, and Colgate skated off with a 6-4 victory. Despite allowing four goals, Plenderleith played an outstanding game, registering 45 saves against a constant Dartmouth attack.

The Saturday game against Harvard was not as positive for the Raiders, as Harvard staked itself to a 5-0 lead before Colgate managed to get on the board. Sophomore forward Krista Dermott tallied the lone Colgate goal, her second of the season, with just under seven minutes remaining in the game.

This weekend is an important one for Colgate hockey, as they take on the Cornell Big Red in a home-and-away series. Colgate hosts the Big Red on Friday at 3 p.m., before travelling to Ithaca for the return game at 3 p.m. on Saturday. Cornell is currently 8-1-3 in the ECAC, tied for first place in the conference, while Colgate is 3-6-3, tied for eighth.

Contact Michael LeClair at [email protected].