DANBURY, Conn.  — Colgate women's hockey was selected as the second-place finisher in the ECAC Hockey Preseason Poll, the league announced Monday morning. The Raiders finished with three first-place votes, also landing senior goaltender Hannah Murphy on the six-player Preseason All-League squad. 

The results mark the first time the Raiders were not picked to finish atop the ECAC since the 2020-21 preseason poll. First year head coach Stefan Decosse will look to bring Colgate its fifth-straight conference championship, a feat that has never been accomplished in league history.

The Raiders reload with 15 returners from last season, but lose nine players including five draftees that were selected in the second-ever Professional Women's Hockey League Draft last June. 

Of those 15 returners, few will be more integral to the Raiders' success than senior goaltender Hannah Murphy. Colgate's only ECAC Preseason All-League representative posted a 1.22 goals against average in 2023-24, the fourth-best mark in the nation, while saving .946 percent of shots faced, the fifth-highest percentage in the country. 

The 2023-24 third team All-League selection stands behind a youthful blueline led by sophomore Avery Pickering and junior Holy Cross transfer Casey Borgiel. 

Up front, the Raiders roll out goal scorers galore with third-team All-ECAC selection Elyssa Biederman, ECAC Rookie of the Year Emma Pais, and fifth-year forward Kristýna Kaltounková, who was fifth in NCAA Division I last season with 1.583 points per game.

The Raiders begin their title defense with an exhibition contest against St. Lawrence on Saturday, Sept. 21, before kicking off the regular season at Mercyhurst on Friday, Sept. 27.2024-25 ECAC Hockey Women's Preseason Poll
1. Clarkson - 113 (6)
2. Colgate - 109 (3)
3. Cornell - 103 (2)
4. St. Lawrence - 92 (1)
5. Quinnipiac - 82
6. Yale - 69
7. Princeton - 65
8. Brown - 47
9. RPI - 35
10. Harvard - 27
11. Dartmouth - 23
12. Union - 182024-25 ECAC Hockey Women's Preseason All-ECAC
G - Hannah Murphy - Colgate
D - Haley Winn - Clarkson (unanimous)
D - Nicole Gosling - Clarkson
F - Anne Cherkowski - Clarkson
F - Abby Hustler - St. Lawrence
F - Lily Delianedis - Cornell