TROY, N.Y. – No. 3/4 Colgate women's ice hockey held on to beat Rensselaer at Houston Field House Friday night 3-2 to earn Greg Fargo his 100th career victory as the head coach of Colgate.
 
Shae Labbe opened the scoring just 2:37 into the contest, netting a wrist shot. The junior forward lifted the puck over the right shoulder of Rensselaer goaltender Kira Bombay. Labbe played a part in each of the Raiders goals as she assisted the other two to complete her three-point night.
 
Olivia Zafuto put home the Raiders second goal with 4:56 left in the first. The junior from Niagara Falls, New York, was situated to the left of the net when the puck flew in her direction. She plucked it from mid-air, placed it on the ice and proceeded to score.
 
In the second period, Julia Vandyk made several impressive saves to preserve the Raiders lead. Vandyk, who won her 50th career game with the win, finished with 23 saves.
 
Malia Schneider netted her 15th goal of the season 2:39 into the final frame to put the Raiders up 3-0. Labbe and Lauren Wildfang were credited with assists on the goal. Wildfang collected her 73rd career point on the play, the most by a defender in program history.
 
The Engineers would not go away easily. Rensselaer scored two goals in the latter half of the third period to make it a one-goal game.
 
With 1:31 left to play, Rensselaer called timeout to bring an extra attacker on the ice. They fired a couple shots, but Vandyk and the Raiders defense held strong to hang on for the victory.
 
BOTTOM LINE
Colgate 3, Rensselaer 2
 
WIN-LOSS RECORD
The Raiders improved to 28-4-1 and 18-3-0 in ECAC Hockey play. Rensselaer fell to 9-18-6 overall and to 6-12-3 in conference play.
 
KEY RAIDER INFO
-Head Coach Greg Fargo won his 100th game as head coach at Colgate.
-Prior to Rensselaer's first goal, the Raiders had gone 286:51 without allowing a goal, setting a program record for consecutive minutes without allowing a goal.
-Wildfang was previously tied with Tara French '07 for the most points by a defender in program history before breaking the record with her assist.
-Colgate has won five consecutive games against Rensselaer.
 
FACTS AND FIGURES
-Labbe netted her 14th goal, the second highest total on the team.
-Labbe now has nine multi-point games this season and the 22 in her career
-Jackie Leone picked up her third assist of the season on Labbe's goal
-Coralie Larose also was credited with an assist, her fourth of the season
-Zafuto netted her ninth goal of the season, improving her point streak to eight games.
-Since Jan. 20, Zafuto has recorded 12 points, the most by any defender in the nation.
-Kaila Pinkney registered her 11th assist.
-Schneider's 15th goal of the season tied her with Jessie Eldridge for the most on the team. It is also the third highest total among first-years in ECAC Hockey.
 
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Greg Fargo
"We played a really strong game. We did a lot of good things, especially offensively. We were taking the puck to the net. Our power play showed up big tonight, which was great. We just want to continue to make strides and just keep getting better as we go forward."
 
"Shae took control tonight. I thought her and her line were great for us again. They really can push the pace for us. Every time she had the puck tonight she was really challenging the opposition. She was taking the puck to the scoring area and got the results tonight."
 
"Julia is playing some of her best hockey. When we need she's always there to come up with the right save at the right time."
 
"A tremendous accomplishment for Lauren to set a new standard, as far as defenders go. Since day one, she has come in and provided some really good leadership for us on the back end. And has done so with her play. She leads with how she plays."
 
UP NEXT
Colgate takes on Union in its final regular season game on Saturday. Puck drop is at 3 p.m. Colgate has a chance to at least share the ECAC Hockey Regular Season championship as it heads into the final game tied with Clarkson for first in the league.