HAMILTON – Three different goal scorers powered the Colgate women’s ice hockey team past the New Hampshire Wildcats, 3-1, Sunday afternoon at Class of 1965 Arena.
The Raiders have now had seven different players score all of their goals this season.
Breanne Wilson-Bennett (Markham, Ontario), Jessie Eldridge (Barrie, Ontario) and Shelby Perry (Elginburg, Ontario) tallied all three goals for the Raiders in the victory, each going down as the player’s first goal of the season.
Julia Vandyk (Cambridge, Ontario) was just as impressive between the pipes for the Raiders as she stopped 33 of the 34 shots she faced. Her 33 saves go down as the second most she has recorded in a game in her career.
After a scoreless first period, the Raiders took a 1-0 lead 3:36 into the second period on Wilson-Bennett’s first goal of the season. Wilson-Bennett initially dropped off a pass for Larson where she fired the shot on goal. The puck rebounded perfectly off New Hampshire goaltender Hilary Cashin’s pads to Wilson-Bennett, who crashed for the rebound, and blasted it into the back of the net.
The scoring really pick up in the third period as Eldridge netted her first tally of the year to make it 2-0 with 12:06 left in the third. Anna Zalewski (New Hartford, New York) won a battle in the right corner and dug the puck out to Eldridge in the faceoff circle. Eldridge misfired the shot but it trickled past Cashin.
New Hampshire got on the scoreboard with 8:22 to play in the third period as Taylor Wenczkowski netted her first goal of the year to cut the lead to 2-1. Wenczkowski stole the puck in the offensive after Vandyk saved her initial shot. Wenczkowski shot the puck low just past Vandyk for the goal.
Less than a minute later, Perry regained the two-goal lead for the Raiders on a spectacular offensive sequence. Perry’s first shot went wide of the goal and her stick was knocked out of her hands. As Shae Labbe (Calgary, Alberta) won the battle for the puck in the left corner, Perry picked up her stick and got in front of Cashin. Labbe passed the puck to Olivia Zafuto (Niagara Falls, New York) at the left point where she flung the puck on net for Perry to redirect into the back of the net.
BOTTOM LINE
Colgate 3, New Hampshire 1
WON-LOST RECORDS
The Raiders improve to 2-0-0 on the season with their second straight win while the Wildcats fall to 0-2-2.
KEY RAIDER INFO
-Wilson-Bennett, Eldridge and Perry all scored their first goals of the season
-Wilson-Bennett and Eldridge each of three points on the season
-Perry, Zafuto, Wildfang and Labbe each recorded their first points of the season
-Vandyk had 33 saves in the game, tied for the second most she has recorded in her career
FACTS AND FIGURES
-Colgate outshot New Hampshire, 35-34, in the contest
-The Raiders had 28 shots through the first two periods
-Neither team was successful on the power play, each going 0 for 5
-The Raiders held a 34-23 advantage in face-offs, led by Wilson-Bennett’s 12 wins
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Greg Fargo
“Overall, very similar to last night’s game in the fact that we did a lot of good things within the game. I liked the way we played defensively tonight and you know, we were resilient again.”
To here more from Greg Fargo, click here.
UP NEXT
The Raiders remain at home next weekend when they host the Merrimack Warriors in another non-conference series beginning Friday, Oct. 7 at 6 p.m. followed by the series finale on Saturday, Oct. 8 at 12 p.m.
