NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (1/9/10) - Senior Katie Stewart (Exeter, Ont.) scored two goals and picked up one assist to lead the Raiders to a 5-3 victory against Niagara on Saturday afternoon at Dwyer Arena. Colgate, which dropped its first game to the Purple Eagles yesterday, improves to 6-13-3 overall while Niagara falls to 8-8-4.
The Purple Eagles were the first to get on the board after a scoreless first period. Carleah Angeles picked up her first goal of the season at 1:26 in the second period to give Niagara their only lead of the game, 1-0.
The Raiders took advantage of back-to-back power-play opportunities to gain a 2-1 lead by 13:18 in the second, with Hannah Milan (Great Barrington, Mass.) and Brittany Phillips (Lauder, Man.) recording a goal apiece. Junior Jessi Waters (Menlo Park, Calif.), who had a career-high three assists in the game, picked up an assist on both power-play goals. Jacquie Colborne (Calgary, Alta.) closed the second stanza with one more goal for the Raiders giving them a 3-1 advantage heading into the final period.
Niagara was the first to score in the third period cutting the Raiders lead to one, 3-2, but Stewart was quick to make sure Colgate stayed on top, picking up her first goal of the game with 12:05 left on the clock. She added an insurance goal on the power-play in the final two minutes of play to assure the Raiders 5-3 win.
Junior Lisa Plenderleith (Ajax, Ont.) made 25 saves in the Colgate goal while Jenni Bauer had 26 stops for the Purple Eagles. The Raiders finished 3-7 on power-play opportunities with Niagara going 2-7 on the day.
Colgate will resume ECAC action on Friday, Jan. 15 when they travel to Hanover, N.H. to take on Dartmouth. Start time is set for 7 p.m.