Colby Overpowers Wesleyan 4-1, Continues Strong Play

Waterville, Maine- The Colby College White Mules (8-1) continued their winning ways with a convincing 4-1 victory over the Wesleyan Cardinals (1-9-1). With a balanced offensive attack, stingy defense, and timely goaltending the White Mules kept themselves in first place in the NESCAC with the win. Colby would break into the scoring column first when Kate Sweeney ¹04 (Milton, Mass.) and Heather DeVito ¹05 (Arlington, Mass.) blasted shots on net, and Jill Young ¹03 (Edina, Minn.) settled the puck on her stick off the rebound and fired it past the Wesleyan goaltender. Colby would strike quickly for their next goal, when thirty-seconds later Madeline Mineau ¹03 (Terrase-Vaudreuil, Que.) got the red bulb flashing with a shot into the net, assisted by Merrill Hawkins ¹03 (Chesnut Hill, Mass.) and Christina Dotchin ¹04 (Essex, Vt.). Colby would continue the play for the next ten minutes, keeping the puck in their offensive end, but Wesleyan goalie Elizabeth Courtney ¹04 (Belmont, Mass.) was up for the challenge, getting hot and turning away numerous Colby shots. Merrill Hawkins got a rebound in space in front of the net with two minutes to go though, and made a quick move to beat the goalie and put Colby up 3-0.

It was all defense in the first half of the second period, as both teams tightened up in their defensive zones to prevent any scoring. A Colby penalty on Michele Barmash ¹05 (Kirkland, Que.) for holding gave Wesleyan a man advantage, but Colby held off Wesleyan¹s power play to preseve their lead. Wesleyan¹s best scoring opportunity came when Jessica Ziemian ¹02 (Westwood, Mass.) had a lane to the net, but Lynn Hasday ¹05 (Rockville Center, N.Y.) snatched her slap-shot out of the air for a impressive glove save. Strong defense and goaltending would be the theme for the remainder of the period as the score remained 3-0 going into the second intermission.

The start of the third period was all Colby, as they were once again able to control the puck and keep it in their offensive end. Wesleyan was kept in the game due to the continued solid play of Courtney. A Wesleyan player broke away from the Colby defense with nine minutes to go, and Hasday turned her shot away, but Anna Siliciano ¹05 (Ithaca, N.Y.) was able to gain control of the puck and scored Wesleyan¹s first goal soon after. Colby¹s defense would hold up for the remainder of the period, and a Lauren Gremelspacher ¹03 (Granby, Conn.) empty netter would seal the victory for Colby.

Scoring

Team Time Period Scorer (Assists)

COL 3:37 1 Jill Young (Heather Devito, Kate Sweeney)

COL 4:09 1 Madeline Mineau (Merrill Hawkins, Christina Dotchin)

COL 17:43 1 Hawkins (Young)

WES 11:12 3 Anna Siliciano (Kiersten Von Trapp)

COL 19:11 3 Lauren Gremelspacher (Unassisted)

Saves-

W- Elizabeth Courtney 23-27

C- Lynn Hasday 22-23