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HAMILTON – The Raiders scored twice in the third period to secure the comeback victory against Yale, defeating the Bulldogs 4-3.
With the win, No. 5 Colgate extended its unbeaten streak to 12 games, the longest in program history, and matched idle Wisconsin for the longest unbeaten streak in the nation.
Jessie Eldridge led the Raiders with three points on the night, coming from two goals and one assist. The sophomore has 22 points through the first 12 games of the season and ranks fourth nationally.
Eldridge and
Anonda Hoppner had two great opportunities in the first minutes of the game to put the Raiders ahead, but Yale was able to collect the rebound of their shots and push the puck up the ice to put the Bulldogs up 1-0 at 3:19 in the first period.
Shortly after, Yale had another opportunity to score when
Hannah Rastrick was called for a tripping penalty at 7:48. Colgate had done a good job on defense keeping the puck out of the net and with six seconds remaining in Rastrick's penalty,
Cat Quirion was called for hooking.
The Raiders were able to kill off that penalty as well, keeping their deficit at one midway through first half. Rastrick was called for Colgate's third penalty of the period with eight minutes remaining in the frame, giving Yale another power-play opportunity.
Colgate was once again able to kill it off and was able to draw a hooking penalty on Yale to gain its first power-play chance of the game.
Shae Labbe scored her sixth goal of the season on the power-play to tie the game at 1-1 with just over five minutes remaining in the period.
Lauren Wildfang controlled the puck on the left side of the ice and passed it across to
Jessie Eldridge who was stationed about three yards before the blue line on the right side. Eldridge fired the puck right in front of the net, where Labbe was there to put it past the goalie.
The period ended knotted at one, with each team recording 10 shots on goal.
Goals were a point of emphasis in the second period, with three goals being scored between the two squads.
Just over three minutes into the period, Eldridge scored her second point on night when she put the Raiders up 2-1. Hoppner was skating past the blue line when she found Wildfang just in front of the net. Wildfang dished the puck to Eldridge, who chipped it in past the goalie to give the Raiders the advantage.
Yale battled back, evening the score at two at 6:51 in the period on a goal from Krista Yip-Chuck. The Bulldogs scored against just a minute and a half later, gaining the 3-2 advantage over the Raiders.
Only one penalty was called in the second period and Colgate outshot Yale 21-19 in the frame.
The third period was a battle between the two teams, but the Raiders were able to get two goals on the board for the comeback victory.
Eldridge's second goal of the night came at 7:52 in the third period when she scored the equalizer to tie the game at three.
Livia Altmann corralled the puck down by Colgate' goal, then passed to Hoppner on the boards. Hoppner saw Eldridge skating up the ice and fired the puck her way. Eldridge went two-on-one with Yale defenders but was able to beat both and score on a shot in the upper left-hand corner of the net.
Colgate's game-winner was scored by senior captain Quirion, her fourth of the year.
Bailey Larson fought for the puck on the boards on Colgate's defensive end, then shot a quick pass to
Annika Zalewski. The junior skated the puck up the ice where she passed it to a cutting Quirion. The senior had a tough angle to shoot from, but fired a shot off and it got past goalie Tera Hofmann.
The Bulldogs would have a power-play opportunity at 16:50 after a Larson penalty, but were able to convert. Yale pulled its goalie with two minutes remaining, but Vandyk and the defense stepped up to make huge saves to secure the victory and remain unbeaten.
The Raiders are back in action tomorrow to take on Brown at 3 p.m. in the Class of 1965 Arena. Colgate holds the 16-11-3 series lead over the Bears.
Bottom Line
- Colgate 4, Yale 3
Won-Lost Records
- The Raiders improve to 11-0-1 on the year and 4-0-0 in ECAC play.
- Yale drops to 4-2-1 in the 2016-17 season and 2-2-1 in conference play.
Key Raider Info
- Eldridge led the Raiders with three points, recording two goals and an assist in the game. This extends her scoring streak to nine games. Currently, she is ranked fourth in the nation and first in the ECAC in points, with 21.
- Labbe pitched in goal of her own.
- Quirion recorded the game-winner for the Raiders, her third game-winning goal of the season.
- Hoppner finished with a career-high two assists in the game.
- Wildfang also dished out two assists.
- Altmann recorded her first career assist during the game.
- Zalewski and Larson also each pitched in an assist.
- Vandyk finished the game with 24 saves.
Inside the Box Score
- The Raiders continued their historical unbeaten streak, extending it to 12 games, the longest in Colgate's program history.
- Colgate is one of three remaining unbeaten teams in the nation, along with St. Lawrence and Wisconsin.
- Colgate went 1-3 on power-play opportunities, while Yale went 0-4.
- Colgate outshot the Bulldogs 33-27 in the game.
- The Raiders won 36-of-56 faceoffs during the 60 minutes of play.
From the Source: Head Coach Greg Fargo
- "Tonight's game was pretty indicative of how things have been going lately – good goaltending, good special teams and some timely goals."
- "It was nice to come out on top against a tenacious team in Yale. We really clean up our game in the third and started dictating the play."
- "We are going to look to have better starts from this point on. There are plenty of positives in our game, but better starts will serve us well."
Up Next
- The Raiders face Brown tomorrow at 3 p.m. to close out the weekend.
- Colgate holds the 16-11-3 series advantage over the Bears.
- Live stats and video will be available for the game.
