HAMILTON, N.Y. (11/18/06) – Colgate University’s Elin Brown (Calgary, Alta.) had a power-play goal late in the third to bring the Raiders within one, but it was not enough as No. 9 Princeton University defeated Colgate 3-2, in women’s hockey on Saturday, Nov. 18 at Starr Rink.

 

The teams ended the first in a 1-1 tie but a Princeton power-play goal late in the second broke the stalemate.  The Tigers added another midway through the third to take a 3-1 lead.  The Raiders staged a comeback inching within one with a man-advantage goal and pulled goaltender Elayna Hamashuk (Nepean, Ont.) for the extra attacker for the final 1:15 but couldn’t tie it up.

 

Sonja Novack put Princeton on the board early, with a goal at 3:01 of the first frame.  Colgate was trying to break the puck out of their zone when Alison Ralph stole the puck and swung it down along the boards.  After a fight for the puck in the corner, Christine Foster came out with it, skated in towards the net and found Novack out front, who tipped the puck over the goal line.

 

Senior Carly McNaughton (Lethrbridge, Alta.) evened the scoring at 10:42 of the first with help from sophomores Ruth Fish (Dewitt, N.Y.) and Brown.  Brown had the puck in the left face-off circle and rifled a shot towards the net that found its way through traffic to Fish, who deflected it to the stick of McNaughton who put it home, beating Kristen Young glove side.

 

Princeton entered the second determined, after being outshot 11-8 in the first frame, and put 13 shots on goal compared to Colgate’s six in the second session.  The Raider defense was solid and it looked as though the second would end scoreless until the Tigers took the lead with a 5x3 power-play goal at 16:46.

 

With Tara French and Ali Edell both in the box for infractions, Princeton had the opportunity to set up in the zone.  Katherine Dineen took a shot that skirted wide where a Raider attempted to clear the puck but it was stopped at the blue line by Melanie Wallace, who sent it to Kate Hession.  Hession moved to puck over the left point to Dineen who layed down a slap shot that went over the blocker of Hamashuk for the score.

 

The Tigers took a 3-1 lead at 7:31 of the third with a tally by Brittany Salmon.  Liz Keady came out the corner with the puck and sent it towards the net to a waiting Wallace.  Wallace sent it in on net but it bounced off of Hamashuk’s pads to the opposite post where Salmon was able to poke it in.

 

After a Tiger penalty, the Raider coaching staff called a time-out to sent up a game plan and it paid off.  With Colgate on the power-play, the Raiders had multiple chances during a scramble in front of the net.  Sophomore Sam Hunt (Calgary, Alta.) had back-to-back chances that were stopped by Young, but not collected.  The second rebounded back out on to the ice to freshman Katie Stewart (Exeter, Ont.) who sent another shot in on Young, where it was stopped but fell back out onto the paint where Brown was finally able to sneak it past Young at 18:26.

 

Just seconds later Hamashuk skated to the bench in favor of the extra attacker.  Colgate had six shots in the final 1:15, three of which were on target but Young came up strong for the Tigers, stopping all three. 

 

Young made 21 stops in the third period that saw the Raiders with a lopsided 22-5 shot advantage.  She finished the afternoon with 37 total stops and Hamashuk made 23 saves for Colgate.

 

Colgate falls to 4-7-1, and 4-2 in the ECACHL, while Princeton remains unbeaten with an 8-0-2 overall record, and 8-0-1 league mark.

 

Colgate hosts in-state rivals Clarkson and St. Lawrence on Nov. 24-25.  The Raiders host the Golden Knights on Friday, Nov. 24 at 7 p.m., and take on the Saints on Saturday, Nov. 25 at 4 p.m.