HAMILTON – Colgate women's hockey landed at No. 4 in both the 2023 USCHO and USA Hockey Preseason Polls, only the second time in program history that the Raiders cracked the preseason top five. The announcement came on the heels of the ECAC preseason poll that picked Colgate as a unanimous selection to repeat as league champions for the fourth straight year.
"Being in the preseason top four is great," Head Coach Greg Fargo said, "But we have a group that wants to be number one at the end of the season when it matters most."
No team in the history of Colgate University has ever been crowned national champions, but Fargo's group has legitimate title aspirations this season returning 17 student-athletes from last year that made the program's third-straight NCAA Tournament appearance.
Among those returners are the Raiders' top-eight leaders in points from last season, none more important to the offensive unit than fifth-year Danielle Serdachny and senior Kristýna Kaltounková. While Serdachny set a new school record with 71 points en route to becoming Colgate's all-time scoring leader last season, Kaltounková quietly notched the second-highest point total in a season with 57. The duo is also the record holder for most points scored by a pair of teammates through a four-year span.
Additionally, fifth-year forward Kaitlyn O'Donohoe put together one of the best offensive seasons in Colgate history last year but was still third on the team contributing 44 points in 40 games and climbing into the eighth spot for most points scored by a Raider all-time.
Sitting behind Serdachny and Kaltounková in assists last season was now fifth-year defender Sydney Bard, a two-time captain and 2023 All-ECAC Preseason First-Team selection. Bard joins Serdachny as the only other Raider to crack the league's preseason team and will anchor the back line along with fellow fifth-year captain, Ally Simpson. Both defenders spent time this summer competing on the Team USA U22 roster in the Collegiate Series against Canada.
Sophomore transfer Sydney Morrow will also contribute major minutes on the first and second defending lines after appearing in 34 games for Ohio State last season.
Along with Morrow, Fargo brought in six first-years who will look to make an immediate impact on the ice. In Colgate's exhibition victory against St. Lawrence, forwards Emma Pice and Madeline Palumbo earned minutes with the first and third lines, respectively, while Kaia Malachino assisted on the first goal of the season for the Raiders. First-year Avery Pickering, a member of Team Canada's U18 squad, skated with the second line for Colgate.
The Raiders will not have much time to figure out where their new pieces fit into the roster as they host second-ranked Ohio State for a two-game series this weekend. The Buckeyes got the better of Colgate last season, tying the first game, 4-4, before taking home a 6-2 victory in the second contest.
"I've been a big fan of starting the season against great competition," Fargo said. "They're going to test us early on and for us, Ohio State is not only a measuring stick team but they teach you a lot about where you're at. They help you set some sort of roadmap of where you need to go. It should be a great weekend of hockey and I'm really excited to see where our team's at and to see where we need to go for the rest of the year."
Puck drop for the top-four matchup is slated for 6 p.m. on Friday night with a 3 p.m. start time on Saturday. Neither game is a ticketed event and attendance is free.
