HOCKEY GAME CENTRAL

HAMILTON, N.Y, (10/6/10) – The Colgate women's hockey team is set to embark on another successful Division I campaign, as the team begins its season against two nationally ranked opponents this weekend. The team will play No. 9 Boston College on Friday, Oct. 8 at 7 p.m. and will then host No. 8 New Hampshire on Saturday, Oct. 9 at 4 p.m., both at Starr Rink.

The Raiders finished their 2009-10 season with an overall record of 12-20-4 and finished eighth in ECAC Hockey with an 8-10-4 conference mark. The team, which was picked to finish ninth in the conference preseason poll, will look to improve in one of the toughest women's hockey conferences in the country.

The ECAC comprises two of the top 10 teams in the first USCHO.com Division I poll with No. 7 Harvard and No. 2 Cornell. Colgate finished eighth last season, making its ninth ECAC tournament appearance. The team has never missed the ECAC Hockey playoffs since it first entered Division I in 2001.

THE SERIES
Boston College leads the all-time series 3-0-1 with Colgate. The teams first met in the 2003-04 season when they tied 2-2 in overtime. Since then, the Eagles have had the edge over the Raiders, winning the next three meetings, most recently with a 5-3 score last season.

The Wildcats own a 5-1 record in the all-time series, with the Raiders' only win being a 5-4 victory in 2008. The two teams first met each other in 2004 when UNH defeated Colgate 5-1, and have played each other every year since then. This will be the second year in a row that the Raiders will play the Wildcats in their opening weekend.

SCOUTING THE RAIDERS
Colgate returns two of its top-five point scorers from last season. Sophomore forward Brittany Phillips (Lauder, Man.) had 20 points off 11 goals and nine assists while junior forward Jessi Waters (Menlo Park, Calif.) finished with 16 points off two goals and 14 assists.

The Raiders also return two veteran goaltenders in senior Lisa Plenderleith (Ajax, Ont.) and junior Kimberly Sass (East Amherst, N.Y.). Plenderleith led the team in wins last season with 10, while Sass was named the ECAC Goaltender of the Year in 2008-09.

SCOUTING BOSTON COLLEGE
This will be the Eagles opening game of the 2010-11 season. The team, which is ranked No. 9 in the USCHO.com Division I Poll, completed last season with an overall record of 8-17-10 and a Hockey East mark of 7-10-4, after losing to Boston University in the league playoffs.

This season the team returns Team USA players senior forward Kelli Stack and senior goaltender Molly Schaus who return to the squad after winning silver at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. In the 2008-09 season, Stack led the team with 57 points (23 goals, 34 assists) while Schaus finished her junior year with a 22-8-5 record, a 1.61 GAA and .940 save percentage, the second best in Division I women's hockey. The team also adds freshman defender Meagan Mangene who, along with Shaus, was named to the U.S. Women's Select Team for the 2010 Four Nations Cup.

SCOUTING NEW HAMPSHIRE
The Wildcats (1-0), ranked No. 8 in the USCHO.com poll, opened their season with a 2-1 win over Connecticut last weekend. The team finished its 2009-10 season with an overall record of 19-9-5 and a Hockey East mark of 13-6-2, leading the league in scoring (3.00 gpg) and power play (.275). UNH also led the nation in power play percentage with 27.5%.

The team welcomes back senior goaltender Kayley Herman who moved into a tie for fourth place on UNH's career wins leaderboard by defeating UConn for her 52nd career win. The team also adds freshman forward Arielle O'Neill to the squad who recorded her first career point with an assist at UConn.