HAMILTON – Colgate women's hockey started its 2015-16 campaign on the right track with a 5-3 victory over Robert Morris here Friday night.
 
The Raiders pulled ahead early, opening the scoring 50 seconds into the contest when Cat Quirion recorded her first of the season. Nicole Gass then made it 2-0 Raiders as the first period came to a close.
 
The two teams exchanged goals in the middle frame, making for an exciting final period.
 
Colgate recorded its fourth of the contest eight minutes into the third, but the Colonials would not go away. RMU then scored two quick goals within a minute to make it a 4-3 game, but an insurance marker from first-year Shae Labbe on an empty net secured the Raiders' the win.
 
Ashlynne Rando was solid in between the pipes, pushing aside 21 shots in her first victory of the year.
 
The Raiders tallied their first goal of the early season on their first official shot, crossing the goal line just 50 seconds into the contest. First-Year Olivia Zafuto and Labbe teamed up to intercept the puck on the right side of the ice. Labbe then found Quirion streaking down the left side, wide open. The junior captain finished off the play, handing Colgate the early 1-0 edge.
 
With two and half minutes remaining in the opening period, Colgate found itself on a 5-on-3 power play after RMU was called for checking, twice. Gass made the most of the opportunity putting the Raiders up 2-0 on a wrist shot from the top of the blue line. Gass and Wildfang played catch before the senior found the small opening for her first of the year.
 
Colgate increased its advantage to three goals just 6:36 into the middle period when senior captain Katelyn Parker finished off a rebound. Megan Sullivan fired the initial shot that was saved by RMU goalie Jessica Dodds. The puck then bounced in the air, where Parker was able to finish it off for the Raiders.
 
The Colonials grabbed one back late in the frame to cut into Colgate's edge.
 
In the third period, Wildfang pushed the Raiders back up by three goals when she found the back of the net straight off a faceoff. Following an Annika Zalewski faceoff win, Wildfang collected the puck and ripped a shot from inside the circle, which sailed past Dodds.
 
RMU would not go away, however, scoring two quick goals to make it a 4-3 contest with 4:41 remaining in the game.
 
With the clock continuing to wind down, RMU decided to pull the goalie, adding for an extra skater. Fortunately, the Raiders would not falter as Labbe secured the victory with an empty-netter and her first career tally.
 
The rematch of this contest is slated for tomorrow at 4 p.m. in Starr Rink. Live stats and video will be available at the start of the contest.
 
Bottom Line
• Colgate 5, Robert Morris 3

Won-Lost Records
• Colgate improves to 1-0-0 on the early season
• RMU dips to 0-2-1 on the year  
 
Key Raider Info
• Five different Raiders recorded goals in the opener, with first-year Labbe netting the first of her career
• Rando posted 21 saves in the contest
 
Facts & Figures
• Both teams went 1-for-5 on the power play.
• Colgate held the 31-24 edge on shots on goal, including two periods with double-digit shots.
• Wildfang, Labbe and Zafuto all registered two points in the contest. Wildfang and Labbe notched a goal and an assist, while Zafuto handed out two helpers.
• Seniors Parker and Gass also tallied goals, while Quirion grabbed the fourth of her career.
• Rando finished with 21 saves, and shifts her career total to 1,901.
 
From The Source
• Head coach Greg Fargo (on his overall thoughts from the game) "It's always good to get the first one under your belt. You know there's nothing like winning and to start the season off on the right foot is something that was a big focus of ours in the off-season. We want to make sure we start the year strong. We got that first one behind us now and are just looking ahead."
 
(on seeing the first-years contribute early) "It's great. We've thrown them right into the fire and especially up front we're young but with that comes a lot of talent and excitement. Our whole forward group is a young group but an exciting one to watch. We're a little more veteran on the back end, but the future looks bright. Our team right now looks really strong. We've done some good things in these first couple games. There are some areas we need to clean up, certainly, but we've started off on the right foot and we are just excited to keep getting better every day."
 
(on having a quick turnaround, facing RMU again tomorrow) "Not a ton of changes I don't think. Systematically some areas we need to clean up on are faceoffs. Just some assignments on both ends of the rink that at times we were a little careless with the puck. You saw that with the power play today early on in the game and as the game went on through the neutral zone. We've got to do a better job of managing the puck and making smarter decisions. Those things are going to happen with a young team. We're going to learn from it and move on. We're happy to get the two points tonight and the win. We'll have some areas of focus moving into tomorrow. We'll be better for sure."
 
• Senior captain Katelyn Parker (on grabbing her first goal of the season) "It feels really good. All the lines were clicking tonight. Megan (Sullivan) made a great move from the corner and the puck was just there, kind of hand-eyed it in. I was really excited to get the first one of the NCAA season out of the way, and hopefully it kind of keeps going."
 
(on what she learned from tonight's season-opener) "Obviously we learned a lot from tonight. The NCAA game is a bit quicker, it's a bit more physical so we learned a lot from tonight, and we're happy with the win. We're also going to take what we learned and put it toward tomorrow's contest. We're going to get here in the morning, get our legs going and then we're going to play another tough game tomorrow. We're really excited with the win but we know we have such another level that we can get to so we're eager to come back tomorrow and show that second level."
 
Up Next
• The Raiders and Colonials are back in action tomorrow (Saturday) for the final contest of this two-game set. Puck drop is slated for 4 p.m. in Starr Rink.
• Live stats and video are available at gametime. 

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