BOSTON, Mass.—The #8 Colgate Women's Hockey team dominated early and then held on to claim a 3-2 win over #9 Northeastern at Matthews Arena.
The opening shift was controlled by the Huskies, but
Julia Vandyk started off her strong night with a myriad of key stops to get the Raiders going. After that, the visitors kicked it into gear.
Just under two minutes into the opening frame,
Jessie Eldridge took a pass from
Olivia Zafuto and took a low shot on the ice from center point that eluded Northeastern goalie Aerin Frankel to give Colgate the early 1-0 lead.
Nemo Neubauerova was not credited with a point on the play, but was originally given the goal after she set a screen in front of the net.
The remainder of the period belonged to the Raiders. They peppered Frankel with 13 shots, but the score remained 1-0 after 20 minutes.
The single goal margin did not last very long in the second period. Just over a minute into the frame,
Delani MacKay sent a pass along the boards from her own blue line that connected with twin sister
Eleri MacKay. With
Rosalie Demers driving hard towards the net, MacKay had a shot blocked, then followed it up to net her first career goal.
After an evenly played stretch of game, the Huskies found the back of the net just before the intermission to make it 2-1 Colgate after 40 minutes.
Vandyk and the Raiders turned away plenty of Husky opportunities in the third period, including this key stop to keep the game at 2-1.
Not long after that stop,
Malia Schneider cashed in. In a goalmouth scramble, Neubauerova and Zafuto whacked away at the loose puck, but it was Schneider who was at the far post to tuck home her first of the season.
The home side had the response just over two minutes later when they converted on the power play. For the next seven minutes, the Raiders dug in.
Vandyk and company had an astounding 34 blocked shots on the night, including a bunch late in the game and it helped Colgate hold down a 4-3 victory for their second ranked win on the young season.
Bottom Line
- #8 Colgate 3, #9 Northeastern 2
Facts & Figures
- With Eleri MacKay's goal, now four of Colgate's six freshmen skaters have scored their first career goals.
- Colgate has now won 32 straight games when leading after two periods of play.
- There is now a three-way tie atop the team's scoring leaders with five points. Eldridge, Bailey Larson and Schneider all share the lead.
- The Raiders are now 2-1 away from home ice this season with both wins against top-10 teams (#5 Ohio State, #9 Northeastern.)
From the Source
Head Coach
Greg Fargo
"Both teams really played well at different moments," said Fargo. "It felt like a playoff game. It had that feeling with a lot of momentum shifts throughout the game and a lot of emotion."
"I was pleased with how our team came and played right from the start," said Fargo. "As the game went on, the ice kind of shifted the other direction, but our group did a great job to hang on."
"It was huge," said Fargo. "That was something we talked about before the game. In order to play a good 60-minute game, you have to start the right way and we were ready to go today."
Senior goalie
Julia Vandyk
"Shot blocking was outstanding tonight," said Vandyk. "Overall, we had really good hustle and we got the job done."
"It's definitely harder to stay warm and into the game when I don't see as many shots," said Vandyk. "Games like this are exciting, fun and it's good to see a lot of shot blocks, but it's what I'm here for. It's what I love to do."
"As soon as we leave the rink today, this game is over and our minds are on to tomorrow," said Vandyk. "We need to come out with the same speed and hustle, knowing that today doesn't matter anymore. We're going to try and be our best at every moment."
Up Next
The Raiders and Huskies wrap up their weekend set Saturday at Matthews Arena in Boston. Puck drop is set for 3 p.m.
