Smith’s Late Goal Gives Saints 2-2 Tie with Colgate

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Whit Haynes '10
Senior defenseman Britni Smith scored the game-tying goal with :02 seconds left on Friday.

Nov. 13: Senior assistant captain Britni Smith scored a short-handed goal with only two seconds remaining in regulation on Friday evening, helping the St. Lawrence University women's hockey team earn a dramatic 2-2 tie with Colgate University in Hamilton, NY.

The Saints have had their share of struggles at Starr Rink over the years, including three consecutive losses at Colgate entering Friday's game.  The Scarlet and Brown (4-4-4) appeared to be headed for another defeat at the hands of the Raiders (2-7-2) until Smith's goal in the final seconds.

"We played hard tonight and fought back against a team that has given us plenty of trouble over the years in this building," said St. Lawrence head coach Chris Wells.  "Both goaltenders played well and we'll need a strong effort tonight against Cornell, which is off to a great start."

Senior Maxie Weisz was in net for the second straight game and turned in another solid performance, making 22 total saves including 10 crucial stops in the third period.  She battled Lisa Plenderleith, who also had a big 11-save third period to add to her game-high total of 27 stops.

Colgate took a 1-0 lead at the 9:00 minute mark of the first period when Marissa Dombovy scored her second goal of the season on Weisz, with assists going to Katie Stewart and Evan Minnick.  However, St. Lawrence junior defenseman Michelle Zimmerman would answer at 15:59 with her second goal of 2009-10.  The Littleton, CO native picked up an unassisted tally to even the scoring at the end of one period.

St. Lawrence, which finished with a narrow 10-9 advantage in shots through one period, also held a 6-2 advantage in the category in the second stanza though no goals were scored.  Colgate would eventually reclaim its lead at 2-1 at 8:50 of the third period, as Brittany Phillips scored her fifth goal of the season.  Whitney Routman and Ali Edell were credited with assists on the goal.

Phillips' goal was well on track to be the game-winner, especially when the Saints' bench was assessed a two-minute minor penalty for Too Many Players at 18:33 of the third period.  Despite playing short-handed the Saints got the puck into the Raiders' zone and Smith came up with the heroic game-tying goal at 19:58, with assists going to sophomores Vanessa Emond and Alley Bero to force the overtime session.

Though Weisz made two saves to Plenderleith's one in overtime, it was the home team's goalie that made the crucial save in the waning seconds.  Plenderleith robbed St. Lawrence first-year student Jamie Goldsmith with one second left in overtime to keep the game deadlocked at 2-2 and give both teams a point in the ECAC Hockey standings.

The visitors finished with a 29-24 advantage in shots on goal, and neither team was able to get much offense going on the power play.  Colgate was 0-for-3 with the extra skater while
St. Lawrence closed with an 0-for-2 mark.

The Scarlet and Brown will look to snap a three-game winless streak tomorrow, Saturday, November 14th when they visit Ithaca, NY to take on Cornell University.  The puck will drop on the Saints and first-place Big Red at 4:00pm at Lynah Rink.