HAMILTON – The No. 5 Colgate women's hockey program generated plenty of scoring chances, 38 to be exact, as it hosted No. 7 Clarkson on Monday night. Although two of those chances found the twine with goals by
Noemi Neubauerova, the Raiders fell to the Golden Knights in a narrow 3-2 final.
The nonconference slate continues as the Raiders host Clarkson for a rematch Thursday at 5 p.m.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Coming out strong offensively, Colgate opened the game by outshooting Clarkson 6-1 in the first minutes. The first scoring chance for the Raiders came as
Sammy Smigliani had a look at the edge of the crease, but with 7:22 remaining in the opening period, Clarkson would score a power play tally in the slot for a 1-0 advantage. It marked just the first power play goal the Raiders have allowed in the season's first four games.
Although the Raiders quickly saw a man advantage of their own, Clarkson added a second with under 3:00 to play in the period. It wouldn't stand for long though, as
Noemi Neubauerova put the Raiders within one with her first of the season. Her goal came with just 1:25 remaining in the period, to put the score at 2-1 heading into the second.
In the rivalry, it became a penalty-filled second period as the game got physical. The Raiders were able to draw multiple power plays and it paid off when Neubauerova notched her second of the night with the man advantage with just 1:16 remaining in the period.
With the momentum of Neubauerova's late tally in the second, Colgate opened with another surge of offense in the third.
Kaitlyn O'Donohoe skated the puck up to the edge of the crease in the opening minutes as she looked to tie things up, but was snuffed out by a pad save.
The Raiders continued to generate chances as they saw several more power play opportunities, to register another 10 shots on goal in the third period. Although Colgate consistently continued to pressure the Clarkson zone, it opted for the extra skater with 2:01 remaining in regulation. Despite pulling the goalie to create more offensive chances, the horn would sound for a 3-2 final before the Raiders could force overtime.
COLGATE SCORING PLAYS
• Period 1 | 18:35 – The puck was crossed through the neutral zone by
Rosy Demers as the Raiders created a 3-on-2 rush into the Clarkson zone. Centered Demers passed it right to
Tanner Gates, who's shot was blocked in the slot. It was then that Nemo Neubauerova picked up a quick rebound straight on from the net and sent home a one-timer over the blocker of the Clarkson netminder.
• Period 2 | 18:44 – Circling the puck around the Clarkson zone was sophomore
Danielle Serdachny. Passing the puck down low,
Sammy Smigliani who had a chance right at the edge of the crease, before Neubauerova picked up the rebound to send it home through cluttered traffic down low.
STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
• By scoring both of Colgate's goals, junior
Noemi Neubauerova recorded her first goals of the season. It is also the second time in her career she's posted a multi-goal game.
• Freshman netminder
Kayle Osborne remained between the pipes for her fourth straight start, where she tallied a 16-save performance.
• With assists tonight, junior
Rosy Demers extends to four-game point streak, while sophomore
Sammy Smigliani improves to a three-game streak.
• Statistically speaking, the Raiders outshot Clarkson by a 38-19 margin, held a 40-18 advantage in faceoff wins, and went 1-for-7 on power play opportunities in which they generated eight shots on goal.
• In addition to Colgate's 38 shots on goal, Clarkson recorded another 22 blocked shots on looks by the Raiders.
• After having a two-goal performance at Clarkson on Saturday, first-year
Kalty Kaltounkova made another impact offensively as she posted six shots on goal.
• Defensively, sophomore
Allyson Simpson led the team with three blocked shots.
THE BOTTOM LINE
• No. 7 Clarkson 3, No. 5 Colgate 2
RECORD UPDATES
• No. 5 Colgate now holds a 3-1-0 record.
• No. 7 Clarkson begins the season 1-1-0.
HEAD COACH GREG FARGO'S TAKE
"That was a hard-fought game by both teams. We were really strong for three periods and Clarkson blocked a lot of shots tonight. There were some moments we didn't make enough out of when we had the chance and that was the difference. We had some great looks tonight and I credit their goalie who played well for them today."
UP NEXT
The No. 5 Raiders host No. 7 Clarkson again on Thursday evening when the puck drops in continued nonconference play at 5 p.m. While closed to the public, all home games can be viewed on ESPN+.
FOLLOW THE RAIDERS
For more information on the Colgate women's hockey program, follow the Raiders on Twitter @ColgateWIH and Instagram at colgatewih.
