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Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Colgate
Players Mentioned
Women's Hockey Cruises to 4-1 Win over Colgate
February 07, 2015 | Women's Ice Hockey
Box Score
PRINCETON, N.J. (2/6/15) - Coming off the biggest win of its season and the first full week of classes after the winter break - coupled with the fact that nationally ranked Cornell visits Princeton tomorrow - it was a possibility that the Tigers might have a tougher time than expected against Colgate.
For two periods the visiting Raiders did all they could to make things difficult before Princeton scored two third-period goals for a tougher-than-expected 4-1 win; clinching a berth in the ECAC Hockey playoffs.
Sophomore Morgan Sly scored twice while Princeton leading goal scorer Molly Contini opened the scoring with her 15th goal of the season. Junior goalie Kimberly Newell recorded 21 saves for her second straight win and is now 9-10-2 on the season.
The Tigers dominated the opening ten minutes and appeared to get on the board when sophomore defender Kelsey Koezler went in on a semi-breakaway against Colgate goalie Ashlynne Rando. Both as well as Raiders defender Nicole Gass and the puck ended up in the goal. The play was originally ruled a goal but after a lengthy video review the goal was waved off and Gass was assessed a minor penalty for tripping.
Princeton failed to score on the ensuing power play but would get on the scoreboard just over five minutes later.
Sophomore Hilary Lloyd sent a cross ice pass to defender Brianne Mahoney and the senior ripped a shot from the point that Contini deflected in from in front for the goal with 9:40 left in the period. The assist was the first of two in the game for Mahoney, who was named the game's second star.
The Tigers scored what would be the game winner early in the second. Rando, who finished with 24 saves, stopped two Tigers' shots before Sly was able to tuck the puck in the net for her fifth goal of the year 4:31 into the second. Freshmen Emily Achterkirch and Kiersten Falck had assists.
Colgate answered less than two minutes later when freshman defender Lauren Wildfang sent a seeing eye shot from the point that found its way into the net. The Raiders carried the better of the play from that point on, outshooting Princeton 13-6 in the second period but failed to capitalize on two power plays; heading into the third trailing 2-1.
The Tigers would get some breathing room on the power play 5:26 into the third.
Enjoying a 5-on-3 advantage after back-to-back penalties against the Raiders, Princeton peppered Rando with shots. The sophomore made a nice stop on Mahoney but Sly tapped in the puck from the Raiders' crease just as the first penalty expired.
The Tigers held Colgate to three shots in the third, outshooting the Raiders, 8-3, and would seal the win with an empty-net goal with 2:32 to play. Lloyd hit Contini with a pass coming out of the neutral zone to send the sophomore into the Colgate zone and Contini sent a cross ice pass to Jaimie McDonnell. McDonnell hit the wide open cage for her fifth goal of the season.
Princeton (12-10-2, 10-6-1 ECAC) currently sits in sixth place with 21 points and gained a point on fifth-place St. Lawrence after the Saints tied Union, 1-1. But the Tigers' hopes for a home playoff game took a hit as both Clarkson and Cornell, currently tied for third and the final two home spots, both won. The two teams moved into a tie with Quinnipiac as the Bobcats lost to Cornell in overtime. Colgate (7-21-1, 4-12-1) is currently in ninth place and trails Yale by five points for the final playoff spot.
Harvard, which was shutout 1-0 by Princeton last Saturday, moved back into first with a 6-1 win over Yale and has 27 points. Clarkson, Quinnipiac, and Cornell all have 26 points. Princeton hosts the Big Red tomorrow afternoon at 4 p.m., at Baker Rink.