BUFFALO, N.Y. — On Saturday night in Buffalo, the Raiders fell short but remained positive throughout the Ice Breaker Championship.
The opening period saw several Colgate opportunities, but the Raiders weren't able to crack Minnesota Duluth goalie Maddie Rooney. Outshooting the Bulldogs throughout the first several minutes thanks to an early play, the ECAC representatives found themselves trailing 1-0 heading into the locker room after 20 minutes of fast-paced action. Minnesota Duluth's leading goal scorer Gabbie Hughes snuck one past Colgate's
Liz Auby to tally the first of the evening.
The second period didn't prove to be much different for Colgate. Minnesota Duluth kept the pedal to the metal out of the locker room and maintained its advantage in the shot column. Each side saw one power play, but neither was able to make it count as both penalty kill units continued to thrive in Buffalo. Almost exactly halfway through the period, the Bulldogs claimed a 2-0 advantage thanks to Kasundra Betinol, further applying pressure on the Raiders.
Colgate came out with a palpable sense of urgency as its hopes of bringing home the first ever Women's Ice Breaker Championship would either come to fruition or disappear in the ensuing 20 minutes. Minnesota Duluth's Maddie Rooney stayed on top of her game, shutting down any Colgate chances until
Darcie Lappan broke through for her third goal of the young season via a beautiful feed by
Sammy Smigliani.
Lappan's goal brought extra life to the already energized Raiders, but wasn't enough to take down the new Ice Breaker champions. The Bulldogs soon answered with a shorthanded, empty net goal to create the decisive 3-1 advantage.
Following the game, Colgate's
Sammy Smigliani and
Allyson Simpson were named to the all-tournament team.
Bottom Line
Facts & Figures
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Senior goalie Liz Auby recorded 23 saves.
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This was only the second all-time meeting between the two programs.
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Shots were 27 to 23 in favor of Minnesota Duluth.
From the Source
Head Coach Greg Fargo on his team's performance this weekend.
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"All year, the focus has been on taking ground and keeping it. The result didn't side in our favor today, but we were in it at the end with a chance to tie the game. There are plenty of positives to take away from this weekend and we'll continue to make progress as we head into ECAC play."
On his team's fight throughout tonight's game
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"You hate to spot any team two goals, but our urgency increased as the game went on. The energy on the bench has been tremendous; it's a great group to coach. When everyone is connected, it's easy to feed off of each other."
Up Next
The Raiders return home to play Princeton at Class of 1965 Arena on Friday, November 1st.
