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HAMILTON, N.Y. (1/2/12) –  The Colgate women's hockey team opened the New Year with a bang on Monday night when it defeated Syracuse 5-0 in its final non-conference matchup of the season.
 
The Raiders scored four goals in the second period and one in the third to secure the shutout win.
 
Senior goaltender Kimberly Sass had a solid performance in net with 33 saves in her eighth career shut out. Junior Jenna Klynstra led the team in scoring with one goal and two assists while freshman Melissa Kueber and junior Brittany Phillips tallied one goal and one assist apiece. Sophomore Megan Wickens also added two points from two assists.
 
In the first period both teams took some time to warm up after both having just come off a four-week break from competition. As the game progressed, it was Syracuse that was able to find its shooting momentum first, creating some close opportunities and hitting the pipe in the seventh minute but could not get on the scoreboard. A pair of penalties on Colgate (7-10-1, 2-4-1 ECAC Hockey) gave the Orange an extra skater advantage on two occasions but it could not capitalize. It was not until the final seven minutes of the frame that the Raiders were able to find their rhythm and fire some shots on net with the help of two power play advantages of their own. In the final seconds of the period, Syracuse thought it had found the opening goal with a shot at the buzzer that made its way into the frame however, it was waved off by the officials after reviewing the play.
 
The near-goal opportunity by the Orange proved to be the igniting force for Colgate. The Raiders jumped out to an explosive start finding an early goal at the 2:17 mark to take a 1-0 lead. Kueber scored the goal with help from Wickens and sophomore Jocelyn Simpson. Colgate struck again 68 seconds later on a fast break when Klynstra picked up a loose puck, slid it over to Phillips who then skated down the ice and dished it off to sophomore Shannon Doyle who hammered it home to put the score at 2-0. Both teams then began to play a more aggressive and physical game throughout the stanza but it was the Raiders that were able to score a pair of goals in the final minute to increase their lead to 4-0. Klynstra scored the team's third goal at the 19:12 mark with assists from senior co-captain Amanda Kirwan and freshman Miriam Drubel, while sophomore Taylor Volpe scored the fourth goal at the 19:46 mark with help from Kueber and Wickens.
 
Colgate then went on to score its final and fifth goal at the 9:48 mark of the third period courtesy of Phillips with an assist from Klynstra to defeat Syracuse for the second time this season and earn its second shutout win, 5-0.
 
The  Orange held a 33-29 shooting advantage and both teams went scoreless on the power play with a total of 12 chances between them. Syracuse had 24 saves from its two goaltenders that split time in net.
 
The Raiders will resume play on the road this weekend with a pair of ECAC Hockey matchups against Rensselaer and Union on Friday, Jan. 6 and Saturday, Jan. 7 respectively.