CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - After a dominant finish against Dartmouth, Colgate came into Saturday afternoon looking to keep rolling. Greg Fargo and his group worked to make adjustments in order to start fast and put together a full 60 minutes of high-energy hockey. The Raiders didn't see the start they hoped for, but were able to fight back and give No. 10 Harvard a scare.
Colgate saw the first power play opportunity early in the first period, but couldn't quite tilt the ice in its favor as Harvard came through with the first of several penalty kills. Nearly 10 minutes in, Kristi Della Rovere gave the home team an early edge after Rosy Demers was sent to the penalty box.
Late in the first period, Harvard killed a penalty and scored immediately after returning its skater. Anne Bloomer sent the Raiders into the first intermission with a two goal deficit. Despite the early Crimson lead, there wasn't much reason to panic yet. In the January edition three weeks ago, Harvard scored first and shut Colgate out through more than half the game before the Raiders exploded for five goals.
Colgate's resilience was on full display in the second period to say the least. In the opening minutes, Noemi Neubauerova scored on a beautiful cross-ice feed from Malia Schneider to put the visitors within one.
Schneider wasn't done. After a shot by Sammy Smigliani was blocked away just minutes later, the junior was there to hammer the puck home and tie the game.
Both teams found chances in the remainder of the second, but neither could tally the elusive go-ahead goal.
Sammy Smigliani did just that, however, midway through the third. The freshman unleashed a rocket that snuck over the shoulder of Harvard's Becky Dutton. The goal marked the 12th of Smigliani's freshman campaign, four shy of Colgate's rookie record.
In a thriller between evenly matched teams, no lead is safe. Harvard tied the game with three minutes remaining. The horn had barely stopped sounding before the Crimson found the back of the net once again. The fourth and final Crimson goal would sink Colgate.
With the loss, Quinnipiac jumped Colgate in the ECAC standings. The Raiders now sit at seventh, trailing the Bobcats by one point.
Bottom Line
Facts & Figures
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Colgate outshot Harvard 41-19, by far the biggest shot advantage in a loss this season.
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Malia Schneider is now 15th in all-time points in the program's history. She passed Shelby Perry with 89 career points.
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Danielle Serdachny needs four more assists to tie the program record for most assists in a season by a freshman.
From the Source
Head Coach Greg Fargo on the back-and-forth thriller
- "I'm proud of our team. We showed a lot of character to fight back after being down 2-0. We played completely free in the second period and to tilt the ice in our favor in the majority of the third. There are a few things we wish we could've done better and we didn't get off to the start we wanted, but there are a lot of positives from this weekend and I like the way our game is trending."
On what the team needs to do to finish the regular season strong
- "We did some good things offensively five-on-five. Special teams this weekend weren't at their best, especially giving up three on the kill was uncharacteristic of us and we took more penalties than we can afford to this weekend. We've made a lot of progress on the power play and had several good looks but came up with nothing to show for it. At this time of the year and in playoffs, these are all areas of our game we want to be dialed in on. I know we will get there, this is a group that wants to win and we've been focused on taking steps all year long."
Up Next
Colgate hits the road for a second consecutive weekend. The Raiders will take on Yale on Friday night.
