Team Notes: Raiders Resume League Play on the Road

HAMILTON, N.Y. – The Colgate women's hockey team will take its first road trip of 2012 this weekend when it travels to Rensselaer and Union for a pair of ECAC Hockey matchups on Friday, Jan. 6 and Saturday, Jan. 7 both at 3 p.m.

The Raiders are coming off a 5-0 win over Syracuse in their final non-conference contest of the season. They scored four goals in the second period and one in the third to secure the shutout win.
 
Senior goaltender Kimberly Sass had a solid performance in net for Colgate (7-10-1, 2-4-1 ECAC Hockey) with 33 saves in her eighth career shut out. Junior Jenna Klynstra led the team in scoring with one goal and two assists while freshman Melissa Kueber and junior Brittany Phillips tallied one goal and one assist apiece. Sophomore Megan Wickens also added two points from two assists.
 
POINT LEADERS
After the successful showing against Syracuse, the team now has 18 players with at least one point, including goaltender Kimberly Sass who has one assist this season. Leading the way is junior Brittany Phillips who has 22 points from nine goals and 13 assists. The forward, who is tied at fourth in the league with four power play goals, is also tied for fourth in points and is fifth in assists. Behind Phillips is sophomore Jocelyn Simpson and freshman Melissa Kueber. Simpson has 15 points from six goals and nine assists while Kueber has nine goals and five assists for 14 points.

LEAGUE PLAY
The Raiders are currently sitting in the eighth place in the ECAC Hockey standings above Brown, Rensselaer, Union and Yale. The team has five points from two wins over Yale and Princeton and a 1-1 overtime tie with Brown for a 2-4-1 league mark. On top of the standings is Quinnipiac with 19 points from a 9-2-1 conference record.
 
SERIES
Colgate leads the all-time series against Rensselaer 8-6-5 since the teams first met in the 1997-98 season. This will be the 10th meeting in Troy, N.Y., with the Engineers holding a 5-2-2 advantage at home. Rensselaer has won the last four meetings in its home territory while the Raiders are on a five-game unbeaten streak at Starr Rink. Last season the Engineers won the first meeting 5-4 in Troy N.Y. while Colgate won the most recent meeting 2-0 in Hamilton, N.Y.
 
The Raiders own a perfect 23-0 record against Union in the all-time series that started in the 1997-98 season. Colgate won the last two meetings in the 2010-11 season both 1-0 on Jan. 14 and 29, 2011.
 
SCOUTING RENSSELAER
The Engineers (4-12-4, 1-5-2 ECAC Hockey) are coming off a pair of losses to Clarkson and St. Lawrence on Dec. 2 and 3. The team is currently sitting in 10th place in the league standings with four points from one win and two ties. Its only league win was over Yale on Nov. 12, defeating the Bulldogs 5-0 on the road, and its two ties were with Princeton and Brown.
 
Rensselaer, which was picked to finish eighth above Colgate in the ECAC Hockey preseason poll, is led by sophomore Jordan Smelker and seniors Alisa Harrison and Jill Vandegrift. Smelker has a team-high 16 points from six goals and 10 assists while Harrison has 14 points from seven goals and seven assists, and Vandegrift has five goals and six assists for 11 points. In net the team is led by freshman Brianna Piper who has a 2.98 goals against average and a total of 218 saves for a .876 save percentage.
 
SCOUTING UNION
The Dutchwomen (3-14-2, 1-6-1 ECAC Hockey), who were picked to finish 12th in the league's preseason poll, are coming off a two-game set against Maine on Dec. 9 and 10, losing the first game 2-1 in overtime and tying the second game 2-2 in overtime. The team is currently sitting in 11th place in the league standings with three points from a 2-1 win over Clarkson on Nov. 4 and a 2-2 tie with St. Lawrence on Nov. 5.
 
Union is led by freshman Bryanne Panchuk who has eight points from four goals and four assists. She is followed by six other players who each have seven points. On top of that list are sophomore Stefanie Thomson and freshman Christine Valente. Thomson has five goals and two assists while Valente has four goals and three assists. Leading the way in goal is rookie Shenae Lundberg who has a 3.98 goals against average and a total of 226 saves for a .873 save percentage.

ECAC PRESEASON POLL
The Colgate women's ice hockey team was picked to finish ninth in the 2011-12 ECAC Hockey Preseason Poll that was released on Sept. 15. The Raiders received 41 points for ninth place above Yale, Brown and Union. Two-time defending regular-season and tournament champion Cornell was picked to finish first with 121 votes and 11 first-place votes.