TROY, NY - Rensselaer made a third period push with goals from sophomore Blake Orosz and junior Jaimie Grigsby, but #3 Colgate ultimately won 3-2 in the exciting ECAC Hockey finish Saturday night.

Colgate's Shae Labbe (Calgary, Alberta) scored a game-high three points off one goal and two assists. Malia Schneider ended up scoring the game-winner for the Raiders.

A mere 2:30 into the first period, freshman Madeleine Burnett threaded a pass through traffic at center ice to junior Makenna Thomas. The forward shot the puck at the top of the faceoff circle that was saved by Colgate's Julia Vandyk (Cambridge, Ontario). Raiders defenseman Jackie Leone (Andover, Mass.) gathered the puck behind the net and passed up the boards to Coralie Larose (Embrun, Ontario). The freshman took the puck all the way behind the Engineer goal and then passed it directly in front of the net to Labbe who scored a goal in the top right corner to put Colgate up 1-0.

The Raiders followed their goal with eight shots on goal while RPI had five shots on frame from Thomas, Grigsby, Whitney Renn and Kendra Farole.

Colgate broke through with less than five minutes to play on an Olivia Zafuto (Niagara Falls, N.Y.) goal. Kaila Pinkney (Denfield, Ontario) kept the puck from going over the blue line and played it to Labbe in the corner. Labbe shot the puck high. Zafuto grabbed the puck out of the air with her glove on the back post, threw it on the ice, and scored just outside the crease to give the Raiders a 2-0 lead.

Rensselaer had its first major opportunity of the game when Aimee Raithby stripped the puck off the stick of a Colgate skater in the neutral zone 5:30 into the second period. The freshman carried the puck into the Raider end for a 2v1. Raithby then took a shot that was saved by Vandyk. The forward grabbed the rebound and played the puck into traffic. Senior Marisa Raspa then took a shot on the back post that was followed by a third Engineer shot by Orosz. Both shots were once again saved by the Raider netminder.

Six minutes later, sophomore Sabrina Repaci made a long pass from the the RPI zone to Shayna Tomlinson who picked up the puck in the middle of the Colgate zone for a breakaway to goal. The senior made a few moves and then shot the puck to the bottom right corner that hit the pads of Vandyk.

Zafuto drew the first penalty of the game with 6:30 left in the second period on an interference call to give RPI a power play. The Engineers best opportunity came 28 seconds into the power play when Repaci took a shot that was blocked by Breanne Wilson-Bennett (Markham, Ontario). Renn stripped the puck from Wilson-Bennett before Wilson-Bennett could clear it. The puck then found Tomlinson alone in front of the net, but the senior's shot hit the leg pads of Vandyk. Renn then followed up with another shot off the rebound, but the senior was blocked by Lauren Wildfang (Waterdown, Ontario).

Up 2-0 going into the third, Tomlinson was charged with tripping 57 seconds into final period. 1:22 into the Raiders' first power play, Burnett  picked up a penalty for hooking to give Colgate a 3v5 advantage. Schneider scored 20 seconds into the two skater advantage for the Raiders' third goal with assists from Labbe and Wildfang.

With time running out, Tomlinson carried the puck into the Colgate zone. The senior passed it to Burnett at the point. The freshman played a hard hit puck towards the net that found Orosz, and the sophomore wrapped the puck around Vandyk to make the score 3-1.

Tomlinson was charged with her second penalty of the game one minute later of tripping. Colgate was passing the puck over the course of their third power play, before Raspa caused a Raider turnover. The senior carried the puck up the left side of the Colgate zone who then passed the puck to Grigsby in front of the net. The junior buried it to make the score 3-2 and give RPI its second shorthanded goal of the year.

Over the next 4:30, Rensselaer made a push to tie the game, but ultimately fell short.

Vandyk was credited with the win on 23 saves while RPI's Kira Bombay picked up the loss on a 32 save effort.

Even with tonight's loss, the Engineers' playoff hopes remain intact thanks to a 3-1 Princeton win over Yale. The Bulldogs are currently one point ahead of RPI in the ECACH standings for the final playoff spot. Rensselaer will host #5 Cornell Saturday afternoon while Yale hosts Quinnipiac. Both pucks are set to drop at 3pm.

Following tomorrow's game with the Big Red, RPI seniors Tomlinson, Renn, Raspa and Amanda Kimmerle will be recognized for their commitment to the Engineer program.