CAMBRIDGE, Mass.—The Colgate Women's Hockey team ran out to a 3-0 lead before they knocked off Harvard 4-2 Friday night at Bright-Landry Hockey Center.
The Raider power play, which entered the day as the seventh best in the nation, went to work early and it did not disappoint. After Harvard was flagged for too many women on the ice, one of the NCAA's top power play threats converted.
After
Eleri MacKay worked the puck to
Olivia Zafuto at the right faceoff circle, the senior defenseman fed classmate
Shae Labbe at center point. Labbe walked the line for a moment, then handed it back to Zafuto, who fired a wrist shot home on the short side to give Colgate an early lead. It was Zafuto's fifth power play goal on the year, which ties her for first in the NCAA.
The Crimson looked to respond on home ice, but the Raiders were able to maintain their advantage, thanks in large part to starting goalie
Julia Vandyk. The senior was perfect on 14 shots on goal in the first period, including a breakaway save to maintain the Colgate lead midway through the frame.
Just a few minutes later, the Raiders doubled up on their advantage. After a long period of sustained zone time,
Tanner Gates partially fanned on a wrist shot from the top of the right faceoff circle, but it turned out to work in her favor. The rolling puck went to the high slot, where
Coralie Larose was waiting to pot her seventh on the campaign of the far side.
Vandyk continued her stellar evening to begin the second period and once again, the Raiders offense was able to pad the lead for their netminder.
Midway through the period, Harvard was looking to clear its own end, but
Shelby Wood was able to hold the line at the right point. From there, she passed to the high slot where
Rosalie Demers was waiting. The freshman pulled the puck to her backhand and finished for her fifth of the season.
When the dust had settled after 40 minutes of play, Vandyk was perfect on 32 shots on goal and the Raiders had a 3-0 advantage.
Colgate kept the Crimson off the board for another 13 minutes in the final period, but then the home side quickly made it interesting.
While on a delayed penalty, Kaitlin Tse scored to break up Vandyk's shutout bid. Then on the ensuing power play, Tse scored again with exactly five minutes to play to create some drama in Cambridge.
Harvard had a tough time getting shots towards goal in the final moments and
Malia Schneider ensured two league points when she scored on the empty net with just over a minute to play.
Bottom Line
Facts & Figures
- Colgate has now scored at least one power play goal in four straight games.
- The Raiders have the seventh-best power play in the NCAA with a 21.8% efficiency rating.
- Gates is now riding a four-game point streak, which includes six points in that span.
- The Raiders are now on a three-game unbeaten streak.
- Labbe took sole possession of the team lead in assists with 14.
From the Source
Senior Defenseman
Olivia Zafuto
- "It was a good win," said Zafuto. "It got close there at the end, but we battled. We came back and bore down to get the empty-netter."
On the success of the power play:
- "We're moving the puck well," said Zafuto. "We've had some good chemistry. I have to credit everyone on both power play units...we've been moving the puck well and getting into space to open up and make it easy for me."
On the team's status with a month to play:
- "We're really hitting our stride," said Zafuto. "Everyone is clicking and our forward lines look great and the D-pairs are going strong. It's exciting to see everyone working hard and we're hoping to keep it up."
Up Next
Colgate wraps the weekend Saturday against ECAC foe Dartmouth. Puck drop has been moved up to 2:00 p.m. in Hanover, N.H. due to the impending winter storm.
