Colgate Drops First League Road Game

TROY, N.Y. (11/6/09) -   Senior Katie Stewart (Exeter, Ont.) collected two goals as the Raiders fell to Rensselaer, 10-4, Friday afternoon at the Houston Field House in Troy, N.Y. Colgate drops to 1-7-1 overall and 0-2-1 in ECAC Hockey, while the Engineers improve to 3-5-3 overall and 1-1-1 in conference play.    The Engineers relied on two quick goals in the first period to gain an early lead against the Raiders.  Rensselaer put in two goals within 7 seconds of each other, in the opening two minutes of the game to set the pace for the Engineers.    

Colgate senior captain Beth Rotenberg (Toronto, Ont.) tallied the Raiders first goal in the fourth minute of the second period to cut Rensselaer's lead in half, 2-1. The Engineers then went on a five goal run, including two power-play goals to gain a 6 point advantage.  Stewart put in her first goal of the game, as she snuck the puck in between the post and the foot of keeper Sonja van der Bliek, to cut the Raiders deficit to five.    

Rensselaer would collect three more goals in the opening minutes of the third period before Colgate was able to start chipping away at their lead.  Just under 9 minutes into the third, Jessi Waters (Menlo Park, Calif.) converted on a power-play to make it 10-3. Stewart added her second goal of the contest just four minutes later, but it wasn't enough to push the Raiders back within reach as the Engineers held off the Colgate women for the win.    

All three Colgate goalkeepers saw time between the posts with sophomore Kimberly Sass (East Amherst, N.Y.) earning the starting nod.  Sass made nine saves between the first period and first half of the second period.  Junior Lisa Plenderleith (Ajax, Ont.) made 11 saves during her time in the second and third periods and rookie goaltender Jocelyn Yokow (Windsor, Conn.) made three saves in her first collegiate game.    

The Engineers were led in goal by van der Bliek with 21 saves on the night. Freshman Taylor Horton took the lead on offense for Rensselaer collecting five-points in the game.   The Raiders will be back in action tomorrow afternoon when they take on ECAC opponent Union at 2:30 p.m. in Schenectady, N.Y.