In a matinee matchup, Colgate and St. Lawrence played a fast-paced game which saw Colgate emerge with a 2-1 win. Colgate improved to 10-3-5 on the year while St. Lawrence dropped to 9-9-1 with the loss. Both teams are off until 2016.
Colgate opened the scoring early in the first period when Jessie Eldridge capitalized on a breakaway opportunity. A turnover at the blue line gave Eldridge a clean break, and she beat SLU netminder Brooke Wolejko with a snap shot high on the glove side just 2:23 into the game.
“We had been out for a really long shift,” said Eldridge. “I was tired and just wanted to get the puck on net. I took a shot and I was lucky to have it go in.”
It took Colgate just over a minute to stretch their lead to two. Bailey Larson scored on a one-on-one opportunity with a snap shot from the right faceoff circle to open the two-goal lead.
St. Lawrence got to within one at the 9:05 mark on Jenna Marks’ power-play goal. Marks held the puck just above the right circle and fired a wrist shot that beat Julia Vandyk five-hole as she slid from right to left. The first period ended with Colgate holding the 2-1 lead.
“I thought we were on our heels a little early; St. Lawrence came out really strong, but we looked up at the scoreboard and were leading,” said Colgate coach Greg Fargo. “That gives us a lot of confidence.”
After the quick goals in the first period, Wolejko and Vandyk took over the game. They both made excellent saves to preserve the 2-1 score.
“They traded some great saves over the course of the game,” said Saints coach Chris Wells.
St. Lawrence pulled Wolejko with 1:33 remaining but was unable to tie the game.
Fargo was pleased with his team’s resiliency over the course of the weekend.
“This is a tough road trip; coming to the North Country, you know you’re gonna get two tough games. As much as we could have, these are statement wins.”
Fargo emphasized the Raiders’ ability to hold on to the lead, which had been an issue for Colgate in the past.
“The biggest takeaway from tonight is the way we finished; that’s been a bit of a sticking point for us, with all our ties where we’ve given up some leads.”
Wells, though disappointed in the weekends results, wasn’t ready to hit the panic button.
“The effort was great; we came right out of the box and we’re in their zone for the first five minutes,” said Wells. “They capitalized on a few good chances, but we fought our way back in. If the effort wasn’t there, there would be concern, but the effort is there.”
“It was a tough weekend scoreboard-wise,” said Saints captain Amanda Boulier. “It was a tough outcome, and not what we wanted heading into the second half, but technical-wise, I like what I’ve seen.”
