Final Score: Vermont 2, Colgate 1 | Box Score | CatamounTV Highlights
BURLINGTON, Vt. – Freshman defenseman Taylor Willard had a goal and an assist to lead Vermont to a 2-1 win and weekend sweep of Colgate Saturday evening in non-conference action at Gutterson Fieldhouse.
 
The Catamounts opened the scoring 7:10 into the first period. On the forecheck Bridget Baker won the puck in the corner and Brittany Zuback fed it up to Willard at the point. Willard fired a wrist shot past Colgate goaltender Ashlynne Rando who couldn't find the puck through traffic. It was Willard's second goal of the season.
 
Vermont stretched its lead to two at the 7:52 mark of the second period on their first power play of the weekend. Willard fired a point shot that was padded aside by Rando but the rebound deflected off Victoria Andreakos to Delia McNally who tapped it into the open net for her second goal of the weekend series. With the assist Willard earned her the first multi-point game of her collegiate career.
 
The Raiders got one back on their own power play in the late stages of the second period. With .5 seconds left in the period Lauren Wildfang scored her first career goal. In the dying seconds of the period Taylor Craig won a puck battle behind the net and she blindly centered a pass through the slot. With the period almost over Wildfang pinched down low and was in perfect position to one-time the puck past Vermont's Molly Depew just before the buzzer.
 
Depew made 25 saves, including nine in the third period, to earn her third win of the season. Rando made 19 saves in net for Colgate who lost their seventh game in a row.
 
"It was a hard-fought weekend with Colgate and I'm really pleased that we battled for 120 minutes," said head coach Jim Plumer.  "We needed to get back to playing solid team defense and I think that was our biggest accomplishment.  I also thought it was great that both Madison Litchfield and Molly Depew gave us excellent efforts in net.  I'm excited to move forward to the remainder of our Hockey East schedule."
 
Vermont returns to action in Hockey East play next weekend as they travel to Storrs, Conn. for a two-game series against UConn. The Catamounts will face the Huskies at 7 p.m. Saturday night before concluding their season series at 3 p.m. on Sunday. Vermont defeated UConn 6-0 on November 2 at Gutterson Fieldhouse in the teams other meeting this season.
 
NOTES: Vermont is now 7-3-1 when scoring the first goal … The weekend series with Colgate went 85 minutes and 57 seconds before the first penalty was called … Delia McNally scored the game-winning goal for Vermont in both games of the weekend series … Vermont converted its only power play chance of the weekend series.