HAMILTON - Colgate took the ice on Friday afternoon in front of a near capacity crowd at Class 1965 Arena looking to pick up a third straight ECAC victory. The young Raiders found everything they needed thanks to a dominant finish. 

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Just over four minutes into the game, Harvard took an early lead on a goal by Kat Hughes. Looking like the start of a high-scoring affair in the beginning, the teams would struggle to find offense for the next 20 minutes of action.

The Raiders erased the Crimson lead four minutes into the second period thanks Darcie Lappan, who tallied her sixth of the season. Lappan now has at least one goal in each of her past two outings. 
 

Take a look at Darcie's goal to get us even!

Her second consecutive game with a goal.#WePlayFree #GoGate pic.twitter.com/94Y4wTuDZx

— Colgate Women's Hockey (@ColgateWIH) January 17, 2020

The offense started flowing in the third period. Malia Schneider gave Colgate its first lead much to the delight of the partisan crowd. Just over a minute later, Darcie Lappan scored once again to give her team a comfortable 3-1 advantage.

There was never a dull moment in the final 20 minutes. Harvard climbed back within one just two minutes after Lappan's goal. Four minutes later, Maggie MacEachern slammed the door on any Crimson comeback after sending a slap shot past Harvard goalie Beth Larcom. 
 

Maggie buries it, Raiders up 2 late in the third on No. 9 Harvard!#WePlayFree #GoGate pic.twitter.com/sgxCYlnPFv

— Colgate Women's Hockey (@ColgateWIH) January 17, 2020

Making sure to continue her impressive run, Sammy Smigliani capped off the victory with an empty net goal. 

Liz Auby picked up her second consecutive win in goal with 19 saves. 

Bottom Line

• Colgate 5, Harvard 2

Facts & Figures

• Sammy Smigliani extended her point streak to seven games with eight goals in that stretch. 

• Colgate outshot Harvard 31-21.

• Darcie Lappan's two goal performance marks the first multigoal game of her young career.

From the Source 

Head Coach Greg Fargo on fighting back from an early deficit

• "It was a strong game for us. We wanted to get out to a really strong start and I liked how we started despite falling behind 1-0 early. I think it was a good 60 minute effort. Our team had a lot of energy up and down the lineup and we got better as the game went on. Harvard's a really good team; they have depth and we knew it would be a tough battle. I think our coaches did a great job this week of getting our team ready and the players were focused and ready to go."

On Colgate's key plays to secure to the victory

• "Scoring 30 seconds into the third period was a big momentum shift and scoring another one a minute later gave us a little breathing room.  We played well defensively and were a connected group committed to blocking shots. We did a nice job to limit their chances even a player down on some occasions."

On the Kids Day atmosphere

• "Today was a good day and the crowd was outstanding. The building was electric and you couldn't help but feel the energy from the crowd from start to finish. I hope the kids that were here enjoyed the action. We certainly want to bring back more of these young fans and their families to our athletic events at Colgate. The Class of '65 Arena is such a great venue to take in excellent hockey."

• "Tomorrow will be another test for our group, we want to rest up and keep making progress with our play here down the stretch. We want to be peaking at the right time." 

Up Next

Colgate is back in action on Saturday afternoon, taking on Dartmouth at 3 p.m.