NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Cat Quirion and Jessie Eldridge netted markers in the final period to help No. 10 Colgate Women’s Hockey shut out Yale 2-0 here Friday night.
The Raiders now have 18 wins on the season, pulling them within one of the program’s Division I record of 19 set in 2008-09. That year’s squad went 19-14-3 for a .569 winning percentage, also the program’s Division I top mark. Colgate is up to 18-6-7 overall this year for a .694 win rate.
Friday’s game remained scoreless for nearly 53 minutes until the Raiders finally broke through on Quirion’s third tally of the year. Annika Zalewski started the play by winning a faceoff in the neutral zone. She slid the puck back to Quirion, who dodged a defender before finding teammate Shae Labbe on the left wing. Labbe quickly continued the give-and-go, passing the puck back to Quirion in front of the net. Quirion then redirected a shot past the Yale netminder Hanna Mandl for the 1-0 edge.
With time winding down, Yale pulled Mandl to add for an extra skater in hopes of finding the equalizer. Despite the man-up advantage, the Raiders held strong fending off any final Bulldog attempts on net. Eldridge then secured the win notching an empty net goal with 19 seconds remaining.
Ashlynne Rando moved her season record to 8-4-4 with 32 stops in the contest. She posted two periods of double-digit saves for her fourth shutout of the year.
Colgate looks to match history on Saturday when it travels to Brown for a 4 p.m. tilt. If the Raiders are victorious they will tie the 2008-09 team for most wins in program history at the Division I level. Live stats and video will be available at the start.
Bottom Line
• #10 Colgate 2, Yale 0
Won-Lost Records
• Colgate improves to 18-6-7 overall and 10-4-5 in ECAC Hockey play.
• Yale drops to 10-15-1 and 9-9-1, respectively.
Key Raider Info
• Quirion recorded her third goal of the season, while Eldridge posted her ninth.
• Quirion’s marker 12:30 into the final period was her first game-winner of the season.
• The sophomore also led the team with four shots in the game.
Raider Goals
• 1st period: no goals
• 2nd period: no goals
• 3rd period: Quirion, assists to Labbe and Zalewski; Eldridge (unassisted)
Facts & Figures
• Both teams went scoreless on the power play. Colgate was 0-for-1, while the hosts went 0-for-3.
• The Bobcats outshot the Raiders 32-23.
• Between the posts for Colgate was Rando, who compiled 32 saves, including two periods with twin figure stops.
Looking To Make History
• In league play alone, Colgate’s 10-4-5 record translates into a .658 winning percentage.
• The best conference marks in program history are 14-7-1 (.659) in 2006-07; 12-7-3 (.614) in 2008-09; 9-7-4 (.550) in 2004-05; and 9-8-3 (.525) in 2005-06.
• The Raiders are assured of their first overall winning record and first ECAC Hockey winning record since that 2008-09 season.
ECAC Hockey Race
• Quinnipiac remains in first place on 31 points, while Clarkson follows closely with 28 points.
• Princeton and Colgate are tied for third place on 25 points, two ahead of fifth-place Harvard. Colgate and Harvard clash Feb. 19 at Starr Rink in a game that could decide first-round home ice. The top four host the next four in ECAC Hockey’s eight-team postseason tournament.
• St. Lawrence (20), Yale (19) and Rensselaer (18) round out the top eight, with Cornell two points farther back.
From The Source
• Head coach Greg Fargo (on the game) “Tonight was a quality win against a very good team in Yale. We survived the first period, got some great goaltending all night and we got better as a group as the game wore on.
“We continue to find a way. Our response tonight was great once again but tomorrow our focus will be on a better start. I know we are up for the challenge.”
Up Next
• Colgate has a quick turnaround as it travels to Brown on Saturday for a 4 p.m. puck drop.
• The Bears are coming off a 4-2 loss to Cornell on Friday night.
• Live stats and video will be available at the start.
