HAMILTON – Olivia Zafuto (Niagara Falls, New York) scored the game-winning power-play goal with 17.2 seconds left in regulation to defeat the Merrimack Warriors, 4-3, Friday night at Class of 1965 Arena.
Cat Quirion netted her first two-point game of the season to lead the Raiders while Megan Sullivan picked up three assists on the night.
Merrimack took a 1-0 over Colgate just 5:35 into the first period on Rae’s fifth goal of the season. Grant-Mentis dug the puck out of the boards in the offensive zone and skated toward the slot. She found Rae with a slick pass on the back door to give the Warriors the lead.
Colgate nearly tied the game midway through the period but Bailey Larson’s goal was waved off after Merrimack goalie Lea-Kristine Demers was unintentionally obstructed from making a play. Cat Quirion raced down the slot and fired a shot on goal that was saved by Demers. Quirion barreled into Demers after her shot ricocheted off the goaltenders’ pads and Larson was there to clean up despite the waved off goal.
The Raiders eventually tied the game with 3:08 left in the first frame to get right back in the action. Zafuto started the play in the defensive zone and found Quirion with a pass in the neutral zone. Quirion then hit Megan Sullivan with a cross-ice pass as she skated into the offensive zone where her initial shot was saved by Demers but the juicy rebound dropped right in front of the crease. Wilson-Bennett crashed towards the goal and tapped the puck home through Demers’ five-hole.
Colgate really got things going late in the second period with two goals in the final 2:31. Cat Quirion netted her second goal of the season with the Raiders’ second power-play goal of the game. Sullivan took the puck near the end line and cycled it up to Zafuto at the right point. Zafuto then made a perfect point-to-point pass to Quirion who blasted her shot through traffic and past Demers.
With 12.6 seconds left in the second period, the Raiders added a third goal to take a 3-1 lead. Jessie Eldridge made a great play to keep the puck in the offensive zone and hit Zalewski with a pass on the left wing. Zalewski then backhanded a pass with one hand to Sullivan streaking through the slot. Sullivan ripped a one-timer that ricocheted of Sullivan’s skate and off Demer’s helmet before trickling over the goal line.
The Warriors pulled within a goal to make it 3-2 with 12:59 left in the third period. Allison Sexton made a spectacular individual effort to fire a shot on Auby and collect her own rebound. Sexton circled around to the wing and come in to fire a second shot but the rebound kicked out to Jackie Pieper where she knocked the puck past Auby.
Rae scored her second goal of the game to tie it up, 3-3, with 10:23 left in regulation. Grant-Mentis picked off a Colgate clear attempt in the neutral zone and skated over the blue line. She skated into the slot where she found Rae with a pass and wristed the shot low past Auby’s right pad.
Colgate’s final goal of the game came just 17.2 seconds before the end of the period, after a scrum in front of the net. During the hectic power-play, Bailey Larson launched a shot from the left side of the net, which rebounded off of the goalie’s pads. Zafuto collected the rebound and recorded a hard shot in front of the net that slipped past the goalkeeper, giving Colgate the 4-3 lead with just seconds left in the game.
The Raiders were able to hold on to their lead, defeating Merrimack 4-3. Colgate is back in action tomorrow at noon to finish out the series with the Warriors.
BOTTOM LINE
Colgate 3, Merrimack 3
WON-LOST RECORDS
The Raiders win their third straight game to start the season while the Warriors fall to 1-2-0 with their second loss.
KEY RAIDER INFO
– Sullivan led the Raider way with three points coming from three assists.
– Quirion pitched in two points of her own, notching a goal and an assist.
– Perry logged a goal of her own in the second period.
– Zafuto scored the game-winner in the final 17 seconds.
– Larson notched her fourth assist of the year.
– Auby registered 11 saves in her first career start with the Raiders.
FACTS AND FIGURES
– Colgate capitalized on three out of its nine power-play opportunities.
– The Raiders recorded 43 shots to Merrimack’s 14.
FROM THE SOURCE
Head Coach Greg Fargo
“Overall I thought it was a really good game by us. It was our best game of the year. Obviously things got a little crazy at the end, but we battled through it. We got ourselves on a power play situation because we were moving our feet and doing some good things. A lot of credit to our team to persevering here tonight and I like the way we played for a majority of the game, minus maybe a couple of shifts throughout. Overall a really positive night.”
UP NEXT
The Raiders and Warriors will wrap up their two-game series Saturday afternoon with a Noon start at Class of 1965 Arena.
