#5 Raiders Punch Ticket to ECAC Semifinals
HAMILTON— Senior Hannah Murphy made 41 saves and sophomore Emma Pais added a goal and an assist as No. 5 Colgate completed the sweep of No. 13/14 Princeton in the ECAC Hockey Quarterfinals inside the Class of 1965 Arena on Saturday night. First-year Alexia Aubin added the other tally for the Raiders while juniors Elyssa Biederman and Casey Borgiel logged their fourth points of the series with an assist each.
"What a night against a super tough opponent," head coach Stefan Decosse said. "I'm super proud of our group and the way we executed. We knew how we wanted to play and we stayed the course through some ups and downs. It was a gutsy effort and I'm super proud of our group."
The Raiders now advance to the ECAC Hockey Semifinals where they will face No. 7 St. Lawrence at Lynah Rink in Ithaca, N.Y., next Friday, March 7.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Aubin scored a loose puck off a rebounded shot from Pais nine minutes into the opening period.
- Pais doubled the lead with a net front deflection on a Colgate power play, her NCAA-leading 10th woman-up score of the season.
- The Tigers cut the deficit in half when they pulled their goalie for a 6-on-4 power play opportunity with just three minutes remaining in regulation.
- After a rather slow third period, Murphy was peppered with a flurry of shots over the final 90 seconds, two of which were expertly blocked by fifth-year Kristýna Kaltounková, as the Raiders held on to complete the quarterfinal sweep of the Tigers.
GAME NOTES
- Colgate moves to 11-3 versus ranked opponents this season, and is 21-8 in the ECAC Hockey playoffs since 2015.
- Murphy tied the program record for most wins in a season, drawing even with Julia Vandyk '18 with 25 wins on the campaign.
- Pais added her 10th multi-point outing of the season in the victory.
UP NEXT
No. 5 Colgate (29-7, 19-4 ECAC) will head to Ithaca, N.Y. to face off against No. 7 St. Lawrence (21-10-5, 13-6-3 ECAC) in the ECAC Semifinals inside Lynah Rink next Friday, March 7. Game time is to be announced in the coming days.
Latest Women's Ice Hockey
- Kaltounkovå Garners CCM/AHCA All-American HonorsMINNEAPOLIS – Fifth-year forward Kristýna Kaltounková was selected to the CCM Hockey and American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) second-team All-American squad, announced Saturday at the Ridder Arena, site of the 2025 Frozen Four.
- #5 Colgate's Comeback Falls Short at #4 MinnesotaMINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – A few more minutes on the clock may have been all that was needed, but No. 5 Colgate's valiant comeback effort ran out of time in a 3-2 decision at No. 4 Minnesota in the NCAA Women's Hockey Regional Final on Saturday afternoon inside Ridder Arena.
- Raiders Take Main Stage in MinneapolisHAMILTON – The No. 5 Colgate women's hockey team will face off against No. 4 Minnesota in the NCAA quarterfinals on Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. ET. The winner punches their ticket to the Frozen Four in Minneapolis, Minn. to face off against the victor of the other quarterfinal contest between No. 1 Wisconsin and Clarkson or Boston University.
- Biederman Earns Forward of the Month HonorsDANBURY, Conn. – Junior forward Elyssa Biederman was named as the ECAC Hockey Forward of the month after logging nine points and helping the Raiders to a 5-1 record in February.
- Women’s Hockey Draws Minnesota in NCAA TournamentHAMILTON – The NCAA Women's Ice Hockey Championship released its tournament field and pits No. 5 Colgate (30-8-0, 18-4-0) against No. 4 Minnesota (28-11, 19-8-1) on Saturday. Puck drop from Ridder Arena is 3 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 15.
- Colgate Falls in ECAC FinalITHACA, N.Y. — No. 5 Colgate could not corral No. 3 Cornell Saturday night, falling in the ECAC Championship inside Lynah Rink, 5-1. Sophomore Kaia Malachino scored the lone goal of the contest for the Raiders who will regroup for the first round of the NCAA tournament to be played next weekend.
