Fri./Sat., Oct. 16th / 17th – at Providence/Connecticut, 7 p.m./4 p.m.

 

The Raiders take to the ice this weekend for another pair of non-conference contests, as they travel to Providence College Friday night, then over to the University of Connecticut for a Saturday afternoon match against the Huskies.

 

Providence – The Friars will host Colgate, carrying a record of 2-1-1 into Friday night. Most recently, Providence battled to a, 3-3, tie against St. Lawrence and dropped a, 3-2, game to Clarkson last weekend. Providence has scored 11 goals in their opening four games and has only allowed seven against, including one shutout performance in their season opener against the University of Maine. Sophomore Ashley Cottrell and senior Arianna Rigano, who have combined for seven goals, lead the Friars into the weekend. Genevieve Lacasse has started all four games in net, holding a 1.71 goals against average, and making 92 saves.

 

Connecticut – The Huskies, who will play Syracuse University on the Friday night before hosting Colgate, come into the weekend with a 1-2-1 overall record and a 0-1-1 mark in the Hockey East. Last weekend, Connecticut came out of a weekend against St. Lawrence and Clarkson with a 1-1-0 record, beating the Saints, 2-0, but falling to the Golden Knights 4-0. Four different skaters have scored of the Huskies, all with a goal apiece, but they have been outscored 8-4 in their first four games. Sophomore Alexandra Garcia has backstopped all four games making 85 saves. The Huskies are also 0-13 so far on the power-play.

 

The Raiders kicked off their season last weekend traveling to New Hampshire and Boston College, suffering two losses and being outscored 9-3. The Wildcats shutout the Raiders to open the weekend, 4-0, allowing four goals in the first two periods. Junior Lisa Plenderleith (Ajax, Ont.) made 30 saves in the loss. The next night, the Raiders couldn't hold on to a two-goal lead, as they allowed four goals in the third period for a tough, 5-3, loss. Evan Minnick (Highlands Ranch, Colo.), Krista Dermott (Milton, Ont.) and Jessica Hootz (Edmonton, Alta.) each scored a goal for the Raiders. Hootz's goal was her first collegiate point.

Colgate will look to have a different outcome from the last time they faced the Friars and the Huskies. Last season, these two Hockey East opponents combined to outscore the Raiders 10-3, handing Colgate its first two losses of the year. Sam Hunt scored the lone goal for the Raiders in the 4-1 loss to Connecticut, while Clancy Todd and Kristi-Lyn Pollock (Virden, Man.) picked up the goals in the Providence game.

 

The Raiders were selected to finish eighth in the ECAC Hockey Preseason Poll as chosen by conference coaches. The Raiders received a total of 52 votes, while top-choice St. Lawrence grabbed the No. 1 spot with 107 votes including three first place votes.

 

Head coach Scott Wiley enters his eighth season at the helm of the Raiders. He currently holds a Colgate career record of 104-116-25. Wiley led last year's team to a school record 19 wins, including an eight-game unbeaten streak in January. The 2003-04 ECAC Coach of the Year has high hopes for this year's team and will look to make this eighth straight ECAC playoff appearance.

Colgate returns four of its top six point getters from last years team, along with the starting rotation of net-minders in Sass and Lisa Plenderleith (Ajax, Ont.). Rotenberg, Minnick, Marissa Dombovy (Webster, N.Y.) and Katie Stewart (Exeter, Ont.) combined for 99 total points last year and will look to keep that chemistry flowing into this season.