Erie, Pa. – The No. 4 Colgate women’s hockey team fell in the National Collegiate Women’s Ice Hockey quarterfinals to No. 5 Minnesota Duluth in a 1-0 overtime contest. The Raiders conclude the 2020-21 season with a 15-7-1 overall record.
HOW IT HAPPENED
All three periods were incredibly competitive as it was a defensive battle for most of the game. As overtime began, both teams recorded solid shots on goal before the Bulldogs scored at the 6:39 mark of the overtime period to win the game 1-0.
The Raiders got off to an incredible start in the first period as it began with Colgate dominating offensively. Already at the 12:02 mark, the Raiders were outshooting the Bulldogs 5-0. Colgate’s defense was relentless and limited the Bulldogs to just six shots throughout the period. The Bulldogs began to create some pressure of their own at the 2:00 mark, but two stellar saves by first-year Kayle Osborne kept UMD off the board at the end of the first period.
The Raiders started the second period right where they left off as they continued to pressure the puck in the offensive zone. UMD began to get more shots on goal throughout the period, but Colgate’s defense shined as the Raiders continued to break up passes.
With 15:10 remaining in the second period, the Raiders initially had taken a 1-0 lead, but the officials called the goal off to keep the game scoreless.
At the start of the third period, sophomore Kaitlyn O’Donohoe set up a beautiful pass for first-year Kalty Kaltounkova low in the slot, but the two could not connect to score. As time dwindled down in regulation, it became an all-out defensive contest as both teams continued to block shots and keep the puck out of the back of the net. At the end of regulation, the game was still at 0-0, forcing the overtime frame.
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STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
• First-year Kayle Osborne recorded 29 saves in the contest.
• Colgate recorded a stellar 22 blocked shots with sophomore Danielle Serdachny leading the team with five.
• Colgate recorded 30 shots on goal with Serdachny leading the team with six.
• The Raiders did not commit any penalties throughout the contest, giving the Bulldogs no power play changes.
• Junior Rosy Demers won a team-high 58.3 percent of her faceoffs.
• This is the second time in four seasons that Colgate advanced to the National Collegiate Women’s Ice Hockey Championship.
THE BOTTOM LINE
• No. 5 Minnesota Duluth 1, No. 4 Colgate 0
RECORD UPDATES
• Colgate finishes the season with a 15-7-1 overall record and an 8-4-0 mark in ECAC Hockey play.
• UMD is now 12-6-0 on the year and is 11-5-0 in the WCHA conference.
HEAD COACH GREG FARGO’S TAKE
“Well, first, I want to say congratulations to Duluth on a great game and a great win. In particular, to Maura Crowell, one of our Colgate alums. It was a great hockey game tonight by two really good teams, and hence we needed overtime to solve it.
“For the most part, we played a really good game and played the game we wanted to play. We would have loved to have found a way to generate a few more chances at times, but Duluth did a great job defensively and they were in our way most of the night. “
On the game being a defensive battle: “Given the track record of both teams and how offensive we’ve been at times throughout the year, I thought there certainly would be a little more scoring, and maybe part of it due to the fact there was only one penalty called during the game. It was a back-and-forth contest and both teams played really well defensively.
On playing in the tournament: “I’m proud of our team. We had just one of the best years you could ask for. To be the first team in program history to win the ECAC in the regular season and playoffs is something that these players will never forget.
“More important than that is how we got through this tough time together. A big part of that falls into the lap of our six seniors we had and how they led this team through a pandemic. I’m eternally thankful to them for their efforts, but just disappointed with the result today. But I’m so proud and I have so much pride to be a Colgate Raider and to be surrounded by such great people all year long.”
SEASONAL STATISTICS
• The Raiders won their first ever ECAC Hockey championship and ECAC Hockey regular season title this season.
• Colgate was stellar at the Class of 1965 Arena this season as the team posted a 10-2-0 record at home.
• The Raiders finished the season 10-1-1 when scoring first and also finished 10-0-0 when leading after the second period.
• Colgate’s defense consistently backed up its offense as the Raiders were 13-1-0 when scoring three or more goals and 6-0-0 when scoring four or more goals.
• Colgate recorded 61 goals this season in just 23 games, with 16 skaters notching points.
• Seven of the Raiders’ 15 wins came against ranked opponents.
• The Raiders swept four series this season, including Syracuse (Nov. 20-21) No. 10 Quinnipiac (Jan. 9-10) No. 9/10 Clarkson (Jan. 16-18) and St. Lawrence (Jan. 22-24).
• In the Senior Night victory over St. Lawrence, the Raiders had their season-high largest winning margin as Colgate won 5-0.
• First-year Kayle Osborne picked up her first career win in her first collegiate game, posting 13 saves and two goals against in Colgate’s 3-2 win over Syracuse. Osborne finished the year with a .926 save percentage and a 1.70 GAA.
• As the program’s first ever Player of the Year, sophomore Danielle Serdachny led the team in points with 21 (9G, 12A) and also had three game-winning goals on the season.
• The Raiders earned ECAC Hockey honors nine times this season, with Osborne being a three-time Goalie of the Week. Serdachny, as well as sophomore Sammy Smigliani, were both two-time Player of the Week honorees.
• The Raiders spent 15 consecutive weeks ranked in the Top 10, with 11 straight weeks ranked at No. 5.
(Colgate Women’s Hockey Photo)
