Box Score

HAMILTON – The Colgate women's hockey team recorded its first weekend sweep of the year, courtesy of Melissa Kueber's game winner, to defeat Yale 2-1 here Saturday afternoon.

"Honestly, we've been playing good hockey for quite a while now," Colgate head coach Greg Fargo said. "The thing we did differently this weekend that we haven't done so much in the past was when the other team got one or when things started to get a little hectic out there we just kept our composure. We put our focus where it needed to be. I give a lot of credit to our team and to our leadership out there because we worried about the things that were in our control and it ended up being four points for us this weekend."

The Raiders posted its first four-point weekend after back-to-back wins over Brown and Yale.

Colgate (7-19-2, 4-12-0 ECAC) saw senior captain Megan Wickens net her fourth goal in a two-game span to give the Raiders the early 1-0 edge. Kueber then added the game-winner in the middle frame for her sixth goal of the year. Nicole Gass, Taylor Craig and Taylor Volpe all posted helpers in the win.

Ashlynne Rando had another solid performance in net, pushing aside 21 shots, including a game-high 15 in the third period.

"To get the goal early on in a 5-on-3 was huge for us," Fargo said. "You get those opportunities in the game and they seem to be the difference. If you score it's a lift to your team and if you don't it always comes back to bite you. We also got some good saves from Ashlynne (Rando) in net so overall we did a good job at weathering the storm and staying the course throughout the entire game."

Both teams converted on a 5-on-3 power player opportunity but it was the Bulldogs who held the shot advantage, at 22-15. 16 of Yale's 22 shots came in the final frame.

Yale (7-12-4, 5-7-4 ECAC) posted a goal midway through the third period, thanks to Hanna Astrom's fifth marker of the year while Jaimie Leonoff registered 13 saves in the loss.

The Raiders and Bulldogs both had man up opportunities in the opening 15 minutes but two penalties on the Bulldogs at the 16:56 and 17:18 mark, awarded the Raiders a power play opportunity. Before Yale was able to kill off one of the penalties, Wickens fired a wrister past Leonoff for the 1-0 Raider lead.

Colgate extended its advantage 4:50 in the middle frame when Kueber found the back of the net. Linemates Craig and Volpe fed Kueber, who finished it off past Leonoff to create a two-goal cushion for the Raiders.

The Bulldogs started the final period with an extra skater as Colgate was called for interference in the closing seconds of the second period. The Raiders were able to deflect any final Yale attempt on net, however, to keep their 2-0 lead.

Over the course of the next 10 minutes Colgate's defense came up huge with blocks by Craig, Miriam Drubel, and Nicole Gass. Rando also made one of her 15 brilliant saves in the period to deny a shot from Jackie Raines.

A late Bulldog goal on a 5-on-3 opportunity made for an exciting final seven and a half minutes.

The Raiders then saw rookies Cat Quirion and Liz Trautz come up with two huge blocks to keep the Bulldogs out of the net. Colgate was able to push aside any Bulldog attempt on net, despite Yale pulling the goalie, to secure the victory.

Colgate is back on home ice Friday when it welcomes nearby rival and No. 6/6 ranked Cornell at 7 p.m.

GAME ARCHIVE