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HAMILTON – ECAC Hockey's third-place teams played up to their billing here Friday night before red-hot Princeton emerged 4-2 victors over Colgate.
 
The largest crowd of the season saw Colgate sporting its specialty Autism Awareness jerseys and skating hard and fast all night long. But rebound goals by Annika Zalewski and Megan Sullivan weren't quite enough against the nation's ninth-ranked team.
 
Zalewski scored hers just 2:46 into the game to hand the Raiders a 1-0 lead. After Princeton answered quickly with a pair of goals to flip-flop the lead, Colgate drew level when Sullivan put one home at 17:06 of the second.
 
The game stayed 2-2 until Princeton's Karlie Lund scored on a power play with less than eight minutes left in regulation. Lund added an empty-netter in the final minute for her first hat trick of the season.
 
Stretching back to Nov. 27, Princeton has now won 13 of its last 14 games.
 
Zalewski's goal was her 11th of the season, pulling her within one of the team lead held by Breanne Wilson-Bennett. Sullivan tallied her 10th goal to become Colgate's fifth player to reach double digits.
 
The Raiders are in fourth place on 21 points and host first-place and No. 4-ranked Quinnipiac on Saturday at 4 p.m.
 
Bottom Line
• Princeton 4, Colgate 2

Won-Lost Records
• Colgate is now 16-6-7 overall and 8-4-5 in ECAC Hockey.
• Princeton improved to 18-5-1 and 11-5-1.
 
Scoring Recap
• Colgate scored quickly with Zalewski punching home a rebound just 2:46 into the contest.
• Jessie Eldridge fired a shot from close range to the right of goal that was saved, but the puck caromed directly to Zalewski with an open net – and she didn't miss. Shae Labbe earned the second assist.
• Princeton answered with a pair of goals before the midway point of the first period.
• Lund corralled the puck at center ice and zigzagged through four Colgate defenders to tie the game 1-1 at 4:37 of the period. The goal was unassisted.
• And the Keiko DeClerck scored from a left angle on the fast break at 9:34 of the first to make it 2-1 Tigers.
• Well into the second period, Colgate finally drew level when Sullivan punched home a rebound at 17:06. Cat Quirion fired the initial shot that was saved, but Sullivan was in the right place.
• Lauren Wildfang also picked up an assist, her 16th. That ties her with Bailey Larson for the team lead.
• Midway in the third period, Colgate fought through one penalty kill but couldn't do it a second time in a four-minute stretch as Lund scored at 12:19.
• Lund scored again in an empty net to assure Princeton of its 13th win in the last 14 games.
 
Facts & Figures
• Colgate claimed a 39-31 edge in shots on goal.
• The Raiders came up empty in four power-play chances, firing a total of six shots on goal.
• Princeton also failed to convert on its first four power plays, but the Tigers made the most of their fifth opportunity with Lund's late goal.
• Lund stands third in ECAC Hockey with 15 goals and 32 points.
• Colgate won the faceoff category, 34-29. Wilson-Bennett won 14-of-22 and Zalewski 13-of-25 to lead the Raider effort.
• First-year goaltender Julia Vandyk made 27 saves for Colgate but lost for just the second time this season. Both setbacks have come to ranked teams, and she's now 10-2-3 overall.
• Princeton's Kimberly Newell made 37 saves and improved to 14-4-1.
 
Turning Point
• Tied 2-2, Princeton killed off a penalty that bridged the second intermission.
• The Tigers then drew a couple of Colgate penalties during a 3:09 stretch, the second on whistled with exactly 8:00 on the clock.
• Colgate won the penalty faceoff but couldn't clear the zone. Princeton's Kelsey Koelzer made the stop and fed Molly Strabley, who found Lund left of goal.
• Lund glided into the slot and was patient before firing her game-winner into the upper right corner.
 
More Key Info
• On Colgate's first goal, the assist for Eldridge was her 12th, and for Labbe her 11th.
• On Colgate's second goal, the assist for Quirion was her seventh.
 
From the Source
• Colgate head coach Greg Fargo (On the game): "We played a very strong game tonight. We always talk about the process of how we play and doing things the right way. I loved our process and we played a team game all the way through.

"It was one of our better games, and we ended up on the wrong side of the scoreboard tonight. I'm proud of our team's effort and process and, most importantly, the impact they had off the ice with raising awareness for autism."

Gate Grab Bag
• Attendance at Starr Rink for the start of Autism Awareness Weekend was 1,098, marking the best crowd of the season.

Up Next
• Colgate is back on home ice Saturday afternoon against first-place Quinnipiac.
• The No. 4-ranked Bobcats are 23-1-4 overall and 13-1-3 in ECAC Hockey after their 4-1 win Friday at Cornell.
• The Raiders tied Quinnipiac 0-0 back in early November in Connecticut.
• The puck drops inside Starr Rink at 4 p.m.

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