TROY, N.Y. (2/16/08) – The Colgate University women’s hockey team dropped a 3-2 game to Rensselaer on Friday, Feb. 16 at Houston Field House. The two teams traded power-play tallies in the opening frame and the Engineers recorded a short-handed goal to take the lead. Colgate added one to end the second session knotted at two, before RPI recorded the game winner in the third period.

 

RPI capitalized 25 seconds into its first power-play opportunity. Melissa Boik had the puck at the top of the circles and sent it down to Allison Wright who tried to put it in on net but it bounced around in traffic before Kendra Dunlop found the loose puck right near the goal line and popped it in at 9:36.

 

Colgate answered back with a power-play goal from sophomore Evan Minnick (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) at 13:58. Senior Mallory Johnston (Chatham, Ont.) fed Minnick the puck as she picked up an Engineer clear and sent to Minnick at center ice.

 

Whitney Nasland scored a short-handed goal to give RPI the 2-1 lead when she collected the puck at the far blue line and road the crowd’s roar into the zone and deked Colgate netminder Lisa Plenderleith (Ajax, Ont.) tapping the puck in around her glove on the right side at 18:21.

 

Colgate tallied the lone goal of the second period to even the game at two apiece. Junior Elin Brown (Calgary, Alta.) sent a puck in from the slot that deflected out to the left side where sophomore Marissa Dombovy (Webster, N.Y.) had a whack at it. The puck was stopped by the goaltender Ashley Mayr but not collected as it trickled over the goal line at 9:08.

 

Julie Aho knocked in her own rebound in what would be the eventual game-winning goal at 1:13 of the third period. Aho redirected a Brook Thompson shot on the left post, the puck was saved and rebounded back out front where Aho put her stick on it and sent it between the pads of Plenderleith.

 

Colgate pulled Plenderleith for the final 55 seconds in favor of the extra attacker but couldn’t get a shot on net.

 

Colgate outshot RPI, 32-19 including a 15-8 differential in the third period.

 

Plenderleith made 16 saves, while Mayr stopped 30.

 

Colgate is 11-13-5 overall and 8-7-4 ECAC Hockey, maintaining its hold over sixth place in the league standings. The Raiders will play Union on Saturday, Feb. 16 at 4 p.m. With a win the Raiders will secure a playoff bid.