Rochester, N.Y. – Shae Labbe recorded her first career hat trick to help the Raiders defeat RIT, 6-2, on Friday night.
The win extended the Raiders’ unbeaten streak to ten games, the longest stretch in program history.
Colgate started off the first period with a two goal burst to give the team a 2-0 advantage just six minutes into the game. Five minutes into the first period, RIT’s Lauren Carroll was called for a hooking penalty that gave the Raiders a power-play opportunity on which they capitalized. Olivia Zafuto pushed the puck up the ice, firing a hard shot that snuck past goalie Terra Lanteigne to give Colgate the 1-0 lead.
Just 38 seconds after Zafuto scored her goal, Labbe added another to put Colgate up 2-0. Zalewski won the faceoff after the goal and found Shelby Perry skating across the ice. Perry then fired the puck to Labbe, who collected it and scored.
Colgate had one more power-play opportunity in the period, but could not get the puck past Lanteigne. RIT had two opportunities to convert on a power-play but the Colgate defense and freshman goalie Liz Auby made sure to shut down the Tigers’ offense.
The Raiders outshot the Tigers 10-7 in the first period, with Auby coming up with all seven saves.
RIT cut Colgate’s lead to one just six minutes into the second period after an interference penalty on Breanne Wilson-Bennett at 5:36. After allowing the goal, the Raiders defense stepped up and only allowed three shots in the next seven minutes.
Labbe scored her second goal of the game 13:10 into the second period to give Colgate the 3-1 advantage over the Tigers. Shannon Ormel recorded her first point of the season after collecting Labbe’s rebounded shot. Ormel passed the puck across the ice to Lauren Wildfang, who found Labbe for the goal.
The final nine minutes were scoreless for both teams, but RIT outshot the Raiders 8-6 in the second period overall.
Jessie Eldridge extended her point streak to seven games after recording her fifth goal of the season at 4:20 in the third period. Colgate was on a power-play opportunity after Kendall Cornine went to the box for RIT. Wildfang pushed the puck up the ice to Perry, who found a cutting Eldridge to give the Raiders the 4-1 advantage.
Two minutes later RIT scored on its own power-play opportunity, bringing the game to 4-2, after Zafuto went to the box for hooking.
It was all Colgate from that point on, including Labbe’s third and final goal of the night with just under 10 minutes to play. The sophomore scored on a breakaway to give the Raiders a 5-2 lead.
Exactly four minutes later, Zalewski added her name to the goal column, scoring Colgate’s final goal of the night on a power-play opportunity to make the game 6-2. Eldridge and Wildfang each were credited with an assist on the goal.
Auby recorded a career-best 17 saves in the game and only allowed two goals.
The Raiders are back in action tomorrow at 3 p.m. for another matchup against the Tigers. The game will take place at the Class of 1965 Arena.
Bottom Line
– Colgate 6, RIT 2
Won-Lost Record
– Colgate moves to 9-0-1 on the season, extending its unbeaten streak to ten games, the best in program history.
– RIT drops to 1-10 in the 2016-17 campaign.
Key Raider Info
– Labbe recorded her first career hat trick in the game, recording three goals.
– Zafuto recorded her second goal on year and her fifth point overall.
– Eldridge continued her point streak, extending it to seven games by recording a goal and an assist.
– Perry dished out her two assists on the night, bringing her season total to five.
– Wildfang registered a season-high three assists in the game.
– Ormel recorded her first point of the season with an assist in the first period.
– Auby recorded a career-best 17 saves in the game.
Inside the Box Score
– The Raiders outshot the Tigers 27-19.
– Colgate went 3-5 on power-play opportunities.
– RIT went 2-5 on its pp chances.
From the Source: Head Coach Greg Fargo
– “In a lot of ways it was a good game for us. We did a good job coming out of our end and turning those clean exits into offense. Our power play was feeling it tonight and they made their opportunities count. We got a lot of positive momentum from our PP tonight.”
-“Now we want to put this behind us and refocus and get ourselves ready for tomorrow afternoon.”
Up Next
– The Raiders face RIT tomorrow afternoon at the Class of 1965 Arena.
– The game is slated for a 3 p.m. start.
– Live stats and video will be available for the matchup.
