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HAMILTON, N.Y. (1/13/12) – Despite making a remarkable two-goal comeback in the third period to tie the game at 2-2, the Colgate women's hockey team could not push past Princeton, eventually falling to the Tigers 5-3 at Starr Rink.
 
Junior Brittany Phillips, freshman Miriam Drubel and sophomore Rachel Walsh scored a goal each for the Raiders while junior Jenna Klynstra added three assists and sophomore Shannon Doyle had two helpers.
 
Colgate (8-13-1, 3-7-1 ECAC Hockey) came out attacking in the opening minutes of the first period, taking the first shots of the game and forcing ECAC Hockey Goaltender of the Week Rachel Weber to make some early saves. As the period progressed however, the tables soon turned as Princeton began to find its offensive rhythm and fire some shots at the frame. The Tigers' offensive surge led to their first goal at the 5:04 mark when Denna Laing picked up a rebound from a save by senior goalie Kimberly Sass, and blasted it into the frame to give her team the 1-0 lead. Then, 36 second later, Princeton tallied a second goal in a similar fashion this time from Corey Stearns at the 5:40 mark to increase her team's lead to two goals. The penalty-free stanza went by quickly as both teams searched diligently for the next goal but at the end of the first 20 minutes of play, it was the Tigers that held a 2-0 advantage.
 
At the beginning of the second frame, it was Princeton that came out shooting and almost found its third goal just two minutes into play when a shot from Paula Romanchuk hit the pipe. A cross-checking penalty on the Tigers at the 3:08 mark then allowed the Raiders to find their composure, and despite failing to capitalize on the power play advantage, gave way to a series of shots by Colgate as they outshot Princeton going into the midway point of the game. The Raiders' closest attempt came in the 11th minute when a shot by Klynstra rebounded off Weber and landed in the crease in front of sophomore Megan Wickens, whose follow-up shot was knocked away by Weber once again to keep the score at 2-0. Both teams continued to battle it out on the ice but at the end of the second 20 minutes of play neither one could score.
 
The final period proved to be the most exciting and productive one with a total of six goals tallied between the two teams. Colgate struck first with an early four-on-four goal by Phillips with help from Klynstra and senior co-captain Amanda Kirwan to reduce the scoring margin to one goal at the 7:15 mark. Less than five minutes later, the Raiders found the back of the net once again courtesy of Drubel to tie the game midway through the frame. Klynstra and Doyle were credited with assists. Immediately after the goal, Princeton took a time out, which soon proved to be a game-changer because four minutes later, the Tigers were able to tally three goals in less than two minutes to reclaim their lead and put the score at 5-2. Princeton's first goal was on the power play at the 15:50 mark, the second was the game-winner at the 16:24 mark and the third one was on an empty net at the 17:46 mark. Colgate then found a power play goal with 32 second left in the game, but it was not enough to push past the Tigers, resulting in a 5-3 setback.

Kimberly Sass had 27 saves in the game for the Raiders while Rachel Weber made 24 for Princeton. Colgate went 1-for-4 on the power play while the Tigers scored on one of their three extra skater advantages.
 
The Raiders will resume play tomorrow (Jan. 14) when they host Quinnipiac at 4 p.m. in their second ECAC Hockey matchup of the weekend.