In an emotional roller coaster of a game, Colgate pulled out a 3-2 win over Quinnipiac, backed by two goals just a couple of minutes apart late in the third period.

“I’m incredibly proud of the heart that our team put out on the ice today,” Quinnipiac head coach Cass Turner said. “They showed much they want it. That’s exactly where you want to be at this point in the year.”

The Bobcats put forth an audacious effort, and they looked in control following sophomore forward Olivia Mobley’s goal in the opening minutes of the final frame. 

They came within a fraction of an inch from icing the game just minutes later, but Colgate’s freshman goaltender Hannah Murphy made a game-altering save. Just a few minutes after Quinnipiac took a 2-1 lead, freshman forward Maya Labad found space on a stretch pass and nearly perfectly executed a pass off the pads of Murphy.

The puck plopped in front of Murphy as junior forward Alexa Hoskin took a backhand whack at the puck. With a seemingly wide-open net in front of her, Hoskin somehow clipped the blade of Murphy’s skate as she dove into a full split and unbelievably kept the puck out of the net.

“They get one early, (Murphy) makes a game-changing save there with about 15 minutes left when it looks like they’re shooting on an empty net,” Colgate head coach Greg Fargo said. 

Immediately following that save, Colgate drew a penalty and headed to the power play for the first time in the game. All momentum swung in the Raiders’ favor, as the power-play unit moved the puck fluently and left the Bobcat penalty kill immobile and unorganized. 

From then on, Colgate dominated play, out chancing Quinnipiac 26-6 in shot attempts over a 12-minute span, as graduate student goaltender Corinne Schroeder did everything she could to eliminate the endless wave of Raider opportunities. 

Schroeder finished the game with 38 saves on 41 shots, but goals off the sticks of sophomore forward Kalty Kaltounkova and junior defenseman Allyson Simpson sealed Quinnipiac’s fate.

“I feel I played a pretty consistent game from the last few I started as well,” Schroeder said. “There was a few more goals against, but there was a lot better scoring opportunities. So I feel pretty confident in myself going forward and the way I can play.”

Junior forward Sadie Peart’s 30th career goal in the second and sophomore forward Olivia Mobley’s early third-period goal were not enough to propel Quinnipiac to the ECAC Hockey championship game against Yale. The Bobcats’ last championship appearance was back in 2016 when they defeated Clarkson. 

Quinnipiac’s next matchup is to be determined against who, but will take place in the NCAA quarterfinal round.