NEW HAVEN, Conn. - League points feel a bit more important in the final outings of the regular season. Looking up at Yale in the standings with four games remaining, two points in this contest would likely push Colgate into a more favorable seed and further its hopes of hosting postseason hockey.

In the last-go around with the Bulldogs, Colgate put together a fast start and a dominant finish. The combination helped the Raiders take a 4-0 victory at Class of 1965 Arena back in Nov. Early deficits have been an unfortunate recurrence lately; Friday night was no different as Colgate found itself in position to battle back once again. 

Neither side could tilt the ice in a back-and-forth first. Colgate saw a late power play chance, but wasn't able to make it count against a stout Yale penalty kill unit. The Bulldogs captured momentum and grabbed an early lead after Emma Seitz snuck one past Liz Auby. 

Second periods have largely been owned by Colgate in the past few outings. In the last outing at Cambridge, a 2-0 Harvard lead disappeared quickly as the Raiders stormed back in the second. Colgate looked for the same kind of urgency and certainly found it.

Allyson Simpson tied the game after pushing a quick wrister past Yale netminder Gianna Meloni. With assists by Sammy Smigliani and Danielle Serdachny, both freshmen continued closing in on Colgate rookie records.

She shoots...she scores??

Ally Simpson buries it to draw Colgate even.#WePlayFree #GoGate pic.twitter.com/8hUE6ifKXO

— Colgate Women's Hockey (@ColgateWIH) February 14, 2020

Midway through the second, Noemi Neubauerova broke the tie. Shelby Wood made a perfect pass down the ice before Neubauerova capitalized. 

Woody??Nemo ????

Raiders on top!#WePlayFree #GoGate pic.twitter.com/y1YTgHb2Ff

— Colgate Women's Hockey (@ColgateWIH) February 15, 2020

Yale tied the game in the final minutes of the second when Greta Skarzynski found the back of the net. The hosts wouldn't look back. 

Much like Colgate's last outing, the women came onto the ice looking to break a 2-2 tie. They were able to find the late lead against Harvard, but couldn't come up with it in New Haven. Elle Hartje scored just over six minutes in and lit up the scoreboard once again with an empty netter ten minutes later. Claire Dalton tacked on another empty netter to create a commanding 5-2 lead.

In better news for Colgate, Sydney Bard scored her first career goal on a power play opportunity with 30 seconds remaining in the contest. The local New Hartford product added one in the goals column to compliment her 12 assists and build on an impressive rookie campaign. 

Take a look at the freshman's career first!

A goal to go along with her 12 assists on the year. https://t.co/u0OtX8sDRw pic.twitter.com/yHi4yIjuDj

— Colgate Women's Hockey (@ColgateWIH) February 15, 2020

Bottom Line

• Yale 5, Colgate 3

Facts & Figures

• For a second straight outing, Colgate outshot its opponent in a loss. The Raiders claimed a 33-27 shot advantage tonight. 

• Danielle Serdachny is now four points away from tying the program record for points in a season by a rookie, as well as three assists away from tying the rookie assists record. 

Up Next

Colgate wraps up a weekend away with a Saturday afternoon date at Brown. Puck drop is slated for 3 p.m.