HAMILTON - Colgate were trailing midway through the second period on Friday at the Class of 1965 Arena, but a flurry of goals by
Dorothy Copetti,
Alexis Petford, and
Alexia Aubin gave the Raiders a 4-2 ECAC Opening Round victory over RPI and set up a quarterfinal series against Cornell next weekend.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Colgate set the tone early in Friday's ECAC Opening Round matchup, nearly forcing a shot in from close range in the opening minute and peppering the net of RPI's Reese Keating, but weren't able to open the scoring. Despite a 10-3 advantage in shots on goal, the game remained scoreless at the halfway mark in the first period.
The rest of a very quick opening period saw defenses rule the day, and despite power play opportunities on both sides, Colgate and RPI would head to the intermission in a scoreless tie.
As the second period got underway, the defensive battle looked to continue as the Raiders registered the first seven shots on goal of the period without scoring, but it would be the visitors who drew first blood at 7:04, when Kylie Toye, assisted by Mia Montanari, scored from close range to give RPI a crucial 1-0 lead.
Playing from behind, Colgate continued to rack up the chances, but Keating continued her stellar early performance in net, helping RPI maintain their lead as the period ticked away.Â
However, Keating wouldn't be enough for long. The Raiders finally cashed in at 13:13 when Dorothy Copetti found the top shelf off an assist from Madeline Palumbo, leveling the game at one and putting Colgate in the driver's seat.
The Raiders didn't have to wait long from there to take the lead. Alexis Petford scored at 14:49, assisted by Taylor Senecal and Alexia Aubin, to give Colgate a 2-1 lead late in the second period.Â
The momentum continued at 16:56, when Aubin, assisted by Petford and Emma Beauchamp, doubled the Raider lead and capped off a second period explosion. With the three goals, Colgate would skate into the final intermission leading RPI 3-1.
Looking to maintain a two-goal lead with 20 minutes to go, the Raiders continued their attacking explosion. At 4:53, Petford got her second of the game, assisted by Senecal and Avery Pickering, to make it 4-1.
From there, the Raiders continued their strong defense, but a power play goal for RPI's Nina Christof, assisted by Georgia Bailey cut the Engineer deficit to two at 18:38. The game would end 4-2, as the Raiders advanced to the ECAC Quarterfinals for the 11th consecutive season.
GAME NOTES
- Alexis Petford's goal and assist in the second period were her 15th of each statistic this season, helping her surpass the 30-point plateau for the first time in her career.
- Taylor Senecal's two assists saw the first-year defender reach the 15 assist mark.
- Madeline Palumbo's second period assist was her fifth in the last four games and the 65th of her Colgate career.
- Emma Beauchamp's second period assist was her fifth of the season.
- With a goal and assist in the second period, Alexia Aubin logged her 10th multi-point game of the season.
- Avery Pickering's third period assist was her 15th point of the season and the 45th of her career.
- Colgate dominated on all fronts, outshooting the Engineers 45-25.
UP NEXT
The Raiders (19-14-1, 13-8-1 ECAC) will head to four-seed Cornell for a best-of-three ECAC quarterfinal series beginning next Friday. The start time for game one is TBD. The series will air on ESPN+.
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