Photo Gallery

HAMILTON – First-year Julia Vandyk notched her first career shutout to propel No. 10 Colgate past Mercyhurst in a rematch here Wednesday afternoon, 3-0.
 
The Cambridge, Ontario, native posted 25 saves, including a goal-saving stop midway through the second period, to record her fourth win of the season.

The opening frame finished scoreless, and despite a 10-6 Colgate edge on shots, both teams had several good chances on net.

With the game still knotted at 0-0 early in the second period, the Raiders were on the search for that go a header marker and received just that after Olivia Zafuto and Lauren Wildfang both found the back of the net. Zafuto's tally was the first of her career, while Wildfang grabbed her fourth.

Colgate maintained its two-goal lead to start the third, but Mercyhurst would not go away, upping its pressure to try to cut into the Raiders' lead. Instead, the Colgate defense held strong and Bailey Larson ensured the win with a short-handed, empty net goal 17:08 into the final period.

Both teams had multiple scoring opportunities in the opening period but strong defense and goaltending prevented any goals from happening.

Just five minutes into the second frame, Zafuto earned her first goal of the season and first career tally. The Lakers' defense tried to clear the puck away from danger but the rookie intercepted it in between the two faceoff circles. She then fired a driven shot over the shoulder of Jessica Convery for the game's opening goal.

With less than a minute to play in the period, Wildfang made it a two-goal Raiders lead with a score much like Zafuto's. With Colgate on the power play after a tripping penalty, the Mercyhurst defense once again tried to clear the puck out of its defensive zone but Wildfang was there to steal it away. The Waterdown, Ontario, native then placed a driven shot past the pads of Convery and into the back right corner of the net.

Mercyhurst continued to try and cut the Raiders' lead in the third period and had a good opportunity when it went on a power play with minutes remaining. The Lakers pulled Convery during that time as well to have the 6-on-4 extra skater advantage. Breanne Wilson-Bennett, however, managed to break up the play in Colgate's defensive zone and send the puck over to Larson, who shot towards the empty net, securing the win with an insurance goal.

The Raiders have a bit of a break with the upcoming holiday and will not be back in action until Dec. 4-5 when they travel to Clarkson and St. Lawrence for two important ECAC Hockey games. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. and 4 p.m., respectively. Live stats will be available at the start of the games.
 
Bottom Line
• #10 Colgate 3, Mercyhurst 0.
 
Won-Lost Records
• Colgate improves to 8-3-5 overall.
• Mercyhurst shifts to 7-7-2.
 
Key Raider Info
• Zafuto, Wildfang, and Larson all added to their season points total with goals in the contest.
• Zafuto led the Raiders in shots with seven.
• Four Colgate players recorded one point each.
• Vandyk posted her first career shutout, while making 25 saves.
 
Raider Goals
• 1st period: No goals.
• 2nd period: Zafuto, unassisted; Wildfang, unassisted.
• 3rd period: Larson, assisted by Wilson-Bennett.
 
Facts & Figures
• The Raiders went 1-for-6 on the power play, while the Lakers were 0-for-4.
• Colgate outshot Mercyhurst by a slim 29-25 margin.
• Four players recorded points in the contest for Colgate.
• Vandyk recorded 25 saves, bringing her career total to 129.
 
From The Source
• Head coach Greg Fargo (on his thoughts from the game): "Today was a really good effort by our team once again. We did exactly what we had to do against a good team. It wasn't perfect but we showed a lot of grit and stayed the course the entire way."
 
"We got a couple timely goals and timely saves and I really liked how we finished the game at the end to keep them off the scoreboard."
 
"We've played a lot of hockey games over the past two weeks and this one may have been the toughest to get up for being that it was the last one before a few days off. Even after the outcome last night, there was no feeling sorry for ourselves, we responded extremely well today. It shows how competitive this team is and how much they want to win every day."
 
Up Next
• The Raiders are back in action Dec. 4 and 5 for league contests against Clarkson and St. Lawrence.
• Games are set to begin at 7 p.m. and 4 p.m. respectively.
• Live stats will be available at the start of both contests.