Team Notes: Raiders Face Third Nationally Ranked Opponent

HAMILTON, N.Y. – The Colgate women’s ice hockey team will continue its six-game homestand this weekend when it faces Connecticut on Friday, Oct. 15 at 7 p.m. followed by No. 10 Providence on Saturday, Oct. 16 at 3 p.m., both at Starr Rink. Providence will be the third nationally ranked team the Raiders have played among their first four games. 

Colgate (1-1) opened its 2010-11 season with a 4-0 setback to No. 9 Boston College and a 1-0 overtime win over No. 8 New Hampshire last weekend. Sophomore forward Brittany Phillips (Lauder, Man.) scored the game-winning goal for the Raiders against the Wildcats, while junior goaltender Kimberly Sass (East Amherst, N.Y.) made 31 saves, to secure her second career shutout. 

THE SERIES
Connecticut owns a 3-1 record in the all-time series with Colgate, with the Raiders’ only win coming last season when they defeated the Huskies 5-2 on the road. The two teams first met in the 2006-07 season when Connecticut defeated Colgate 3-1. The Huskies were undefeated in the next two match-ups the following season until its first loss last in 2009. The Raiders are looking for their first win against the Huskies at home. 

Providence leads the all-time series 5-1-2, with the Raiders’ only win being a 2-1 decision at home back when the teams first met in 2004. The win came in the second game of a two-game set. Since then, the Friars have had a 4-0-2 record against the Raiders, with a 1-1 draw in 2005 and a 5-5 draw in 2007. The Raiders are 1-1-1 at home, playing majority of their games against the Friars on the road, most recently last season when they lost 4-1.

POINT LEADERS
The Raiders have three players with points on the team after securing a win last weekend when they defeated No. 8 New Hampshire 1-0. Phillips, who is the top returning point scorer from last season with 20 points off 11 goals and nine assists, recorded her first point this season after scoring the game-winning goal for the Raiders. Sophomore defenseman Jordan Brickner (Lake Forest, Ill.) and freshman forward Jocelyn Simpson (Shorewood, Ill.) were credited with the assists, giving them both one point as well.

BETWEEN THE PIPES
The Raiders saw to impressive performances last weekend from veteran goaltenders Lisa Plenderleith (Ajax, Ont.) and Kimberly Sass (East Amherst, N.Y.). Plenderleith, who led the team in wins last season with 10, had 31 saves in the Raiders’ loss to Boston College while Sass, who was named the ECAC Goaltender of the Year in her rookie season, also had 31 saves in the team’s 1-0 shutout win over No. 8 New Hampshire. Sass now has an overall record of 4-3-2 against nationally ranked opponents. 

SCOUTING CONNECTICUT
The Huskies (1-2) are coming off a 1-1 weekend with a 3-1 win over Clarkson on Saturday and a 3-2 loss to St. Lawrence on Sunday. Prior to that, the team also lost to New Hampshire 2-1 in its season opener. The game against Colgate on Friday will be its first road game of the season after starting its 2010-11 campaign with a three-game homestand.

Connecticut is led by senior forward Jennifer Chaisson who has three points in the season off one goal and two assists. She is followed by freshman forwards Taylor Gross and Jocelyn Slattery as well as sophomore defenseman Maude Blain, who all have two points off of one goal and one assist apiece. 

SCOUTING NO. 10 PROVIDENCE
The Friars (3-1) are on a three-game winning streak with wins against Robert Morris, St. Lawrence and most recently a 5-0 shutout win over Clarkson last weekend. The team’s only loss was to Robert Morris in the first game of a two-game set.

This season the team is led by junior forward Kate Bacon, who leads the Friars in scoring with five goals. Bacon was named the Hockey East's Pure Hockey Player of the Week this week after she netted her first career hat trick, including one power-play goal and one short-handed strike, in the team’s 6-1 over St. Lawrence last week. She also scored a goal in the team’s 5-0 shutout win over Clarkson and now has five goals in four games.

Senior forward Alyse Ruff leads the team in points (8) off two goals and six assists, while junior defenseman Jennifer Friedman who has five points off five assists, and freshman forward Corinne Buie who has four points off three goal and one assist. Buie received the conference's Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Week award in week one.