HAMILTON – Sophomore goaltender Liz Auby (Stoughton, Wisconsin) tallied her fourth consecutive shutout and third straight to open the 2017-18 season as the nationally ranked No. 8/8 Colgate women’s ice hockey team rolled to a 3-0 win over the nationally ranked No. 6/5 Northeastern at Class of 1965 Arena.
In addition to recording her fourth consecutive shutout, Auby also extended her consecutive shutout minutes streak to 269:09. Both are good for all-time program records.
Jessie Eldridge (Barrie, Ontario) had a solid game for the Raiders offensively as she netted a pair of power-play goals in the first and third periods to continue her impressive start to the season. Eldridge is the first Raider since Melissa Kueber ’15 to score a pair of power-play goals in the same game since Feb. 21, 2015.
After Northeastern came out hot to start the game, Eldridge shifted momentum in favor of the Raiders just 6:44 into the game with her first power-play goal. First-year Malia Schneider (Millarville, Alberta) started the play behind the goal, feeding the puck to Shelby Perry (Elginburg, Ontario) on the left wing. Perry backhanded the puck across the blue line to Eldridge all alone in the center before she blew past the defense and made it 1-0.
Early in the second period, the Huskies had one of their best chances to score and tie the game. After multiple shots and a loose puck in the crease, Auby managed to cover the puck and keep Northeastern from scoring.
Shae Labbe (Calgary, Alberta) put the Raiders up 2-0 just two minutes after Auby’s multiple saves to double the Raiders lead. Northeastern turn the puck over just outside the offensive zone and Labbe collected the puck, skating to the right side before wristing her shot top shelf past Northeastern goaltender Brittany Bugalski.
After more back-and-forth play, Eldridge scored the final goal to claim a 3-0 lead with 6:16 to go in the third period. With the Raiders on the power play, Perry skated to the right point and passed it to Labbe at the point. Labbe rifled a pass to Eldridge standing on the back door where she pounded home the power-play goal.
BOTTOM LINE
Colgate 3, Northeastern 0
WIN/LOSS RECORDS
The Raiders improve to 3-0-0 for the third straight season with their third straight shutout while the Huskies fall to 2-2-1 with the loss.
KEY RAIDER INFO
-Colgate is the first team in the country to open with three consecutive shutouts since Minnesota had four straight to open the 2015-16 season.
-Auby claimed the all-time program record for consecutive shutouts (4) and consecutive shutout minutes (269:09) as she passed Jen Burtaw’s records of three and 231:24 from the 1999-2000 season
-In just three games, Auby is already tied for sixth in a single-season in program history with three shutouts while her fourth career shutout is seventh in program history
-Eldridge had the first game for a Raider with two power-play goals since Melissa Keuber ’15 achieved the same feat on Feb. 21, 2015.
-Eldridge’s two-goal game is her fourth career multi-goal game and her 21st multi-point game
-Labbe buried a goal and an assist for her 14th multi-point game after a career-high eight last season
-Perry tallied a pair of helpers for the Raiders for her sixth career multi-assist game and ninth career multi-point game
-Schneider picked up an assist to give her a point in her second straight game.
FACTS AND FIGURES
-Colgate just edged out Northeastern in shots, 29-28 thanks to a 10-7 third period advantage
-The Raiders were the better power play team tonight, going 2 for 2 while the Huskies went 0 for 2
-Colgate was dominant on the faceoff with a 28-12 advantage led by Breanne Wilson-Bennett’s (Markham, Ontario) 10 for 11 evening.
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Greg Fargo
“It was a great game, we knew it was going to be a tight battle all night. We started out on our heels, I give them credit they came out of the gate pretty hard at us. We caught a break on the power-play, Jessie was able to get inside their defender and made a great play to score.”
“After we scored in the second, we really started to settle in and get into our game. It was a good hockey game, everyone played a part and the story for us continues to be the good things we’re doing away from the puck.”
“[Jessie’s] been phenomenal; she’s playing free and fast, and she’s making plays out there. She’s a threat every time she’s on the ice when she’s playing like that. She’s playing some really good hockey right now.”
“I’m really happy for [Liz], she’s worked tremendously hard over the summer and she just wanted to prove herself this year. Quite frankly, she gives us a chance to win every night and that’s all you can ask from your goaltender. It’s a point of confidence for our group to have Liz back there playing so well right now.”
UP NEXT
Colgate and Northeastern meet again Sunday afternoon in a rematch of Saturday’s game with puck drop set for 2 p.m. at Class of 1965 Arena.
