Colgate 2026-27

It was only a scrimmage but I really liked the much greater confidence shown on D. A lot of new D impressed and both Davis and Walker looked good in goal. That was our Achilles heal last year. Some of the youngsters on O also looked good whereas some have some work to do…Hopefully it will be a fun season. On another note the Stoney Creek Sabres won their own huge tourney thus weekend and the top scorer throughout was Mikayla Barnes who arrives at Colgate with another good looking class next year.

Who won ?

Gate 3-1 over SLU. On paper it was close as our 3rd goal was a Palumbo empty netter with seconds to go, but we completely dominated in stretches of the game. Gate’s first 2 goals were by first year Addison Tremel from nearby Bishop Kearney and the first was a great snipe. Goal allowed was a ricochet bouncer off back up tender Walker who despite that played well. First string tender Davis played very well and D with many first years looked much better than last year. We out shot them 2+-1. A good first effort and new blood could work out well.

Gate’s women’s hockey team could be decimated if the House concurs with the Senate on this bill which would put a 20% cap on internationals on US college sports teams theoretically to give US kids a leg up in recruiting and a better chance to participate. This year’s team has 17 of 21 players meeting the “international” definition. That’s 83%. How do we winnow down from 17 to 4 players to meet the 20% cap? Clearly “grandfathering” would be somewhere in the fine print but for how long I do not know. Hopefully, the House vote will come after midterms, but the margin supporting the bill in the Senate was not close…

My bad. The Team USA bill which I discussed above is not part of the legislation soon to be voted upon in the House which deals with NIL payments etc. That said, the Team USA bill is in committee and being put forward but wouldn’t take effect until 2028-29 if approved by Congress as is. What I just read suggests there is not a huge amount of support for it beyond its sponsors, certain MAGA adherents and John McEnroe.

Nice season-opening victory, but too soon to talk about improved goaltending with Davis allowing 3 goals on 18 shots against a 0-3 team. Gotta love when frosh contribute right out of the gate! Time for the sweep. Congrats to UVM and RPI on their stunners! VB & WSOC… Maybe FH is on the right trajectory!

Great start to the season for the Raiders. Granted, they didn’t beat a top-tier team, but I still thought RIT brought respectable speed and toughness.

I hope we’re seeing a real breakout from Alexia Aubin, who was dominant in all areas this past weekend. #23 was genuinely impressive. She has significantly increased her shot volume. That resulted in several great scoring chances. Also, Aubin finished the weekend at +4. Just like last year, she got involved physically and set up her teammates really well. If she can stay out of the penalty box and keep playing strong 200-foot hockey, Colgate could turn some heads.

I also thought Avery Pickering looked completely transformed. Her skating seems improved, and she displayed great offensive awareness. But what impressed me most was her physical play—having a fully engaged Pickering could completely change the dynamic of this young Colgate D-corps.Senecal and Beauchamp also had strong weekends.

Among the recruits, Addison Tremel has really caught my eye early on. She’s got a great shot and solid offensive instincts, and she could quickly push her way up into the top six and onto the PP.

On the flip side, I expected a bit more from Vocetkova. Given her success playing in the Swedish elite league against fully developed pros, I thought she’d dominate right out of the gate in her freshman year. Let's give her time, though! I was also expecting a bit more from Madeline Palumbo, as she had a tough weekend finishing at -2. In her defense, she works extremely hard on the ice, but I still think she needs to step up more as a senior leader. Finally, between the pipes, while our goalies weren't bad, they'll need to be more dominant moving forward.

Agree on Aubin. Always one of my favorites. I view her first 2 years as primarily an expediter for Biederman and other upperclassmen who knows it’s now her turn to shine. She needs to keep her nose clean this year, she’s too valuable off the ice. Palumbo is a puck mover not a real offensive threat. I wish she would get closer to the goalie with her shots rather than just letting it rip from distance. It’s almost as if the shot is an afterthought. I’ve also watched Vocetkova for 3 games now and for the time being I’d move her to the 3rd or 4th line. No fire, no moving people out of the way in front just circling up top. Seems timid. Hopefully that changes.

Frosh and Sophs look good. We’ll know what we have after this weekend. St Cloud comes in undefeated having beaten UConn twice who just beat Clarkson twice. WCHA hockey at its finest.
Management

What a big win for a team down 2 of their best players who are at the Canadian Women’s National team camp. Clearly outskated and pushed to the brink by St Cloud’s forecheck they kept their heads and let the game come to them. Davis was really good tonight (probably her best win at Gate and I hope Steph plays her tomorrow night as she is definitely our best goalie) and despite my critique after last game, Palumbo scored and played great and Vocetkova scored on a great takeaway and snipe that was very impressive. I hope the first of many. The team D for the most part was bend but not break good. Owen scored a beauty for her first and Pickering and notably Jamie Spring are having much better years so far. Let’s put it to them again tomorrow night. Go Gate.

Oldtimer said:

Agree on Aubin. Always one of my favorites. I view her first 2 years as primarily an expediter for Biederman and other upperclassmen who knows it’s now her turn to shine. She needs to keep her nose clean this year, she’s too valuable off the ice. Palumbo is a puck mover not a real offensive threat. I wish she would get closer to the goalie with her shots rather than just letting it rip from distance. It’s almost as if the shot is an afterthought. I’ve also watched Vocetkova for 3 games now and for the time being I’d move her to the 3rd or 4th line. No fire, no moving people out of the way in front just circling up top. Seems timid. Hopefully that changes.

Frosh and Sophs look good. We’ll know what we have after this weekend. St Cloud comes in undefeated having beaten UConn twice who just beat Clarkson twice. WCHA hockey at its finest.
Management

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Scsu is not WCHA at its finest. They are over rated just like UConn, Clarkson, Penn State, etc. scsu is top 20 at best.

Oldtimer said:

What a big win for a team down 2 of their best players who are at the Canadian Women’s National team camp. Clearly outskated and pushed to the brink by St Cloud’s forecheck they kept their heads and let the game come to them. Davis was really good tonight (probably her best win at Gate and I hope Steph plays her tomorrow night as she is definitely our best goalie) and despite my critique after last game, Palumbo scored and played great and Vocetkova scored on a great takeaway and snipe that was very impressive. I hope the first of many. The team D for the most part was bend but not break good. Owen scored a beauty for her first and Pickering and notably Jamie Spring are having much better years so far. Let’s put it to them again tomorrow night. Go Gate.

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Impressive win by the Raiders yesterday! Completely agree with your analysis of the game, OldTimer. I’d add Taylor Senecal, who played an absolutely colossal game. Every time number 62 touched the puck, I was on the edge of my seat. St. Cloud might have unconsciously fallen into overconfidence, while the Raiders put on their work boots and were dedicated to the task. It wasn't always elegant, but it was so inspiring to see that much hard work. So glad to see Palumbo step up and take the lead while Pais and Aubin are away. She showed she can play a major role on the team. I also agree that Davis deserves another start in net. Really looking forward to tonight's game. If Colgate wins tonight, it could give the team a huge momentum boost. Go Raiders Go!

As far as I’m concerned Senecal is our #1 D which is why I didn’t mention her as she always plays great. Do not know why she didn’t make the ECAC all rookie team last year. She’s a rock.

OE2022 said:

Scsu is not WCHA at its finest. They are over rated just like UConn, Clarkson, Penn State, etc. scsu is top 20 at best.

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Agreed but given they swept UConn and MN State they apear to have impressed the pollsters. They also are talented and should win most non conference games. I agree the East is going to take a while to settle out. A number of highly ranked teams seem not to merit their rankings. Ivy League starts this coming weekend which should inject some reality with Cornell and Princeton expected to be good…

Two well deserved wins against a solid St. Cloud team this weekend. Great to see eleven players with a goal in just four games.

Looking ahead two weeks how do you think your team will do when they come to Columbus to play the Buckeyes?

Impressive performance by the Raiders! A lot of girls raised their game a notch over the weekend. I get the feeling these two wins could help spark a team that had taken a bit of a nosedive since the 2025 season. These young women played inspired hockey—it was really something to see!

To be honest, I didn't have high expectations coming into the season. At best, I placed them in the lower half of the ECAC. But now, I'm starting to believe again. Could they be title contenders? Come on girls, keep surprising us!

Are any Colgate fans offended that a 4-0 Colgate is behind in the polls to a 2-2 UConn?

Last year was a massive graduating class all around! Not surprised rankings are so far off this year.

Hockeybuckeye said:

Are any Colgate fans offended that a 4-0 Colgate is behind in the polls to a 2-2 UConn?

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Offended is a bit of a strong word! But I really struggle to understand the logic behind this national poll, considering Colgate beat twice a St. Cloud team that had already beaten UConn twice early in the season. Go figure? Maybe it's because UConn beat Clarkson twice?

ProudCanadian said:

Offended is a bit of a strong word! But I really struggle to understand the logic behind this national poll, considering Colgate beat twice a St. Cloud team that had already beaten UConn twice early in the season. Go figure? Maybe it's because UConn beat Clarkson twice?

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I've found hockey polls to be a strange beast when it comes to other sports polls and it defies logic quite often. I know this early in the season it's no big deal but when I saw Colgate behind UConn in this week's poll I found it to be a bit of a head scratcher.

Not offended, H, would much rather earn our stripes. No disrespect to RIT, but would hope to defeat them and Game 2 was too close for comfort.

As for OSU, the Buckeyes are the heavy favorites. Our goaltending can be inconsistent and porous. We also spend a lot of time in the box. I would expect them to sweep convincingly, but will pray mightily for the split while our top 2 players are lacing up for Team Canada. Hoping ‘Gate can put up an equal fight.