CANTON, N.Y. - The Raiders trailed by two early in their regular season closer on Saturday, but an
Alexis Petford's brace and a goal by
Emma Pais, who reached the century mark in points, propelled Colgate to a comeback 4-2 victory on the road over St. Lawrence, setting them up for a home opening round playoff matchup next weekend.
COACH DECOSSE'S COMMENTS
"Proud of our resilience tonight. We did not start the game the way we wanted, but responded well in the final 40 minutes. We got some timely goaltending and our special teams played well!"
HOW IT HAPPENED
Saturday's matchup in Canton offered little in the way of attack from either side, with Colgate weathering a power play to keep the scoreline 0-0 with five minutes remaining in the first period.
It would be the Saints who scored first, though. At 17:42, Kennedy Wilson, assisted by Brooke Mulvihill and Ella Nancarrow, put St. Lawrence up 1-0, but another goal would soon follow when Haslam Rylan doubled Colgate's deficit with an assist from Kennedy Emerson just 24 seconds later.Â
The Raiders didn't let up from there. Alexis Petford, assisted by Emma Pais and Elyssa Biederman, scored on the power play at 19:05 to cut the lead to one, and the period would end with Colgate trailing 2-1 after a flurry of goals.
Colgate continued to push forward in the opening minutes of the second period, and at 4:32, Petford scored her second power play goal of the game, assisted by Pais and Biederman, to make it 2-2. The assist was the 100th point of Pais's career.Â
The Raiders weren't done yet, though. At 7:56, Pais scored off of assists by Sara Stewart and Biederman to give the Raiders a 3-2 lead and complete the comeback. From there, the Raider defense stepped up, holding St. Lawrence scoreless the rest of the period, which would end with Colgate leading by one.
With a one-goal lead to protect over the final 20 minutes, Colgate began the third period facing a slew of shots from St. Lawrence, but Brooke Davis remained strong to maintain the Colgate lead.
Colgate would put the game to bed at 18:55, when Biederman logged her fourth point of the day with an empty-net goal to give the Raiders a 4-2 lead, assisted by Pais and Pickering. The game would end there, giving Colgate an emphatic win to close out the regular season.
GAME NOTES
- With her first period goal, Alexis Petford logged her 50th career point. Petford's second period goal was the 25th of her Colgate career.
- Elyssa Biederman's hat trick of assists and third period goal pushed her over the 40-point mark this season.
- Emma Pais reached the 100 point milestone with her opening two assists. She is the 22nd player in Colgate history to reach that mark.
- Sara Stewart's second period assist was her 15th point of the season.
- Brooke Davis made 30 saves in the Colgate win.
UP NEXT
The Raiders (18-14-1, 13-8-1 ECAC) begin their postseason run with a win-or-go-home game next weekend. The opponent, time, and date are still TBA. The game will air on ESPN+ and WRCU.
