Team Notes: Colgate Raids RPI and Union

HAMILTON, N.Y. – The Colgate women's hockey team will hit the road once again for two ECAC Hockey games this weekend. The Raiders will first play Union on Friday, Jan. 14 at 7 p.m. before taking on Rensselaer on Saturday, Jan. 15 at 4 p.m. 

Colgate (6-13-2, 3-6-1 ECAC) is coming off a three-game week that resulted in two overtime ties and a loss. The team first had a 4-4 tie with Syracuse and a 2-2 tie with Brown before suffering a 3-1 setback to Yale. Sophomore forward Brittany Phillips collected five points in the week with three assists against the Orange and two goals against Brown, while classmate Jenna Klynstra and freshman Rachel Walsh had three points from two goals and one assist apiece last week. 

POINT LEADERS
Phillips, who has led the team all season, has a team-high 22 points from nine goals and 13 assists. She is followed by Klynstra who has nine goals and eight assists for 17 points. Tied for third place are junior Amanda Kirwan and senior Jessi Waters, who both have 12 points. Kirwan has two goals and 10 assists while Waters has one goal and 11 assists. 

THE SERIES
The Raiders have a perfect 21-0 record against Union, winning all 21 games since the teams first met in the 1997-98 season. Colgate's last win against the Dutchwomen was on Feb. 19, 2010 when the Raiders defeated them 2-1 at home. 

Colgate also leads the series against Rensselaer, owning a 7-5-5 record. The Raiders' last win was on Feb. 20, 2010 when they defeated the Engineers 3-1 in Starr Rink.

SCOUTING UNION
The Dutchwomen (1-18-3, 0-8-2 ECAC), who were picked to finish in 12th in the league's preseason poll, are coming off a 0-2 weekend with a 4-1 loss to Dartmouth and a 5-0 setback to Harvard. The team's only win this season was a 3-0 shutout win over Sacred Heart on Oct. 15., and its three ties were with Brown, Rensselaer and Maine. 

Union is led by juniors Lauren Hoffman and Lauren Cromartie, who both have a team-high eight points. Hoffman has three goals and five assists while Cromartie has two goals and a team-best six assists.

SCOUTING RENSSELAER
The Engineers (8-7-6, 6-3-1 ECAC) are coming off a 2-0 weekend with a 5-2 win over Dartmouth and a 2-1 win over Harvard last weekend. The team, which was picked to finish seventh in the preseason poll, also has wins over Providence, St. Lawrence, Quinnipiac, Yale, Syracuse and Union.

Rensselaer, which is on a two-game winning streak, is led by sophomore Taylor Horton and junior Alisa Harrison. Horton leads the team with 15 points from seven goals and eight assists while Harrison has 12 points off four goals and eight assists. 

ECAC PRESEASON POLL
The Raiders were picked to finish ninth in the ECAC preseason poll that was released on Sept. 16. The defending regular-season and tournament champion Cornell, was picked to finish first with a total of 121 points and 11 first-place votes. Following the Big Red were Clarkson (105, one first-place vote), Harvard (103), Quinnipiac (79), St. Lawrence (77), and Princeton (73), with Rensselaer (70) and Dartmouth (52) rounding off the top eight spots. Colgate (43) along with Yale (34), Brown (24) and Union (11) were the four teams picked to miss out on this season's tournament.