HAMILTON — The Colgate women's hockey team defeated the second-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes, 3-2, on Friday night courtesy of first-year
Emma Pais' first-career goal that came with 39 seconds left in regulation.
The top-five battle carried the intensity of a playoff game in The Class of 1965 Arena, which Colgate used to jump out to a quick 2-0 lead in the first period.
"I just can't say enough about the crowd tonight, we're really appreciative of the community's support," Head Coach Greg Fargo said. "It gave our team a boost in crucial moments and it made for a really fun environment."
A Buckeye penalty gave the Raiders a power play with seven minutes left in the opening frame, and sophomore forward Elyssa Biederman took advantage when her slap shot found nylon off the feed from senior Dara Greig and sophomore Sydney Morrow.
Colgate then earned another man-up opportunity just two minutes later, putting junior Neena Brick in the circle to take the faceoff for the Raiders. The puck fell to reigning ECAC Player of the Year Danielle Serdachny, who fed Kalty Kaltounkova for Colgate's second score of the night.
Another Buckeye found her way to the penalty box in the waning moments of the first period, but Colgate was unable to capitalize on the advantage leading to a penalty kill for Ohio State to open the second.
The visitors were able to ride the momentum, outshooting the Raiders 25-14 and cutting the lead in half with a goal from sophomore Sloane Matthews. Colgate struggled to get anything going for the rest of the period, and their woes continued into the third when another Buckeye score knotted the game at two.
It seemed like the Raiders were playing for overtime, barely hanging on as Ohio State outshot the home team 6-3 over the next seven minutes. That was until a Buckeye penalty gave Colgate its fifth power play of the night with 3:35 remaining.
The Raiders could not muster up any offense, however, and Ohio State escaped without any damage being done. The two teams traded shots, with senior goaltender Kayle Osborne making her 30th save of the night to keep the score even, before Ohio State's senior forward Jenna Buglioni whiffed on her slapshot just feet in front of the net.
The Raiders cleared the puck with under a minute left on the clock, but Serdachny applied pressure to the Buckeye defender leaving the door open for Pais to pick her pocket in Colgate's offensive zone. The first-year hustled down the ice and went five-hole on the Ohio State goaltender with just 39 ticks remaining in regulation.
The victory marks Colgate's second in the all-time series against Ohio State and gives the squad a 1-0 start for the eighth straight year.
UP NEXT
The Raiders are back at it again against the Buckeyes tomorrow afternoon at 3 p.m. as they look to sweep the Buckeyes at home.
