HAMILTON—The Colgate Women's Hockey team needed to come back twice on Saturday at Class of 1965 Arena, but they prevailed to tie #5 Princeton 4-4.
The Raiders did not have the start that they were looking for, as the prolific Tiger offense struck just over two minutes in on an odd bank shot from Claire Thompson.
Not long after the tally, the red hot Colgate power play was put to use and it did not disappoint. On a break into the zone,
Jessie Eldridge fired a low shot that was kicked out by Tiger goalie Stephanie Neatby into the slot.
Tanner Gates swooped in from her defensive post and potted the rebound home for her fourth of the year.
Colgate picked up more momentum towards the end of the opening frame, but the Tigers ended the period with an 11-8 advantage in shots on goal.
Princeton was able to snag momentum back in the second period when it struck for a pair of goals. Maggie Connors notched a power play marker midway through the frame before Carly Bullock gave the Tigers a two goal cushion with 18 seconds left.
When trailing after two periods, Colgate held a record of 0-4-1 entering play Saturday, but that trend did not continue. The Tigers looked to clamp down defensively, but the Raiders were able to find a spark midway through the period.
While in the offensive zone, Eldridge threw a puck from the right faceoff dot towards goal.
Malia Schneider was tied up by a Princeton defender in front, but was still able to direct the puck in with her skate. The play was reviewed, but it was determined she didn't direct it in with a kicking motion. It was the sophomore's 12th of the season.
Momentum stayed firmly in the Colgate's favor for the next few minutes and the Raiders were rewarded with another bounce. After a Princeton turnover in its own end,
Caroline Ross put a shot towards goal from the top of the left faceoff dot.
Shae Labbe was tied up at the top of the crease, but put her upper body on the shot to deflect it home for her 10th of the year to tie the game at 3-3.
The Tigers immediately took a timeout to regroup and were able to find their footing again just in time. Connors struck for the second time on the day with just a shade over a minute to play to silence the strong Class of 1965 Arena crowd.
With time on the clocking running short, the Raiders pulled another trick out of the bag.
Olivia Zafuto started the play when she won a loose puck battle at the red line. From there, Schneider entered the zone and fed Eldridge, who broke in all alone. The team's leading goal scorer maneuvered in tight and beat Neatby to tie the score with nine seconds left.
A video review confirmed that the play was not offside.
The game required overtime, where both teams had two shots on goal, but could not find the game-winner.
Bottom Line
- #9 Colgate 4, #5 Princeton 4
Facts & Figures
- Colgate has now scored a power play goal in three straight games.
- The Raiders are now 7-1-1 at Class of 1965 Arena.
- Attendance was 502.
- Gates has now scored in back-to-back games.
From the Source
Head Coach
Greg Fargo
- "It's a good league weekend for us overall," said Fargo. "Coming off a good game Friday, we knew we were in for a good test with a good Princeton team."
- "It was a great hockey game," said Fargo. "There were momentum shifts both ways and it was an exciting game. Both teams played well and it was just two good teams going at it and for us to be down two goals going into the third and get a tie is a good feat for our group."
- "In-between the second and third period, we decided that we were really going to go for it," said Fargo. "That's exactly what we did. You saw a group that was really committed to doing what we need to do."
- "It's no secret, we love playing in this rink," said Fargo. "Today was a great crowd and there's a good energy in this building. We want to continue to bring more exciting hockey to this building."
Up Next
The Raiders go back on the road Friday evening to battle ECAC foe Harvard. Puck drop is set for 6 p.m. in Boston.
