Kirwan helps Colgate Raiders to first conference title

Taylor Kirwan SOUTHWEST BOOSTER FILE PHOTO BY STEVEN MAH

Gull Lake’s Taylor Kirwan helped the Colgate University Raiders to their first ECAC Hockey Tournament championship after defeating St. Lawrence 3-2 on home ice on Sunday afternoon.

The Raiders entered the weekend ranked sixth in the country and now have a 15-6-1 record and have earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Raiders had defeated #10 Quinnipiac 2-1 in the semi-final on Friday.

The Raiders will be one of eight teams at the NCAA Tournament, which will be held over two weekends in Erie, PA.

Kirwan is a Junior defenseman in her second season with Colgate after playing for Lindenwood University during her Freshman season.

Kirwan leads the Raiders with a +18 rating this season and has chipped in one goal and four assists in 22 games.

Kirwan played five seasons with the Swift Current Innovation Credit Union Wildcats from 2013-18, registering 66 points in 105 regular season games and adding 19 points in 28 post-season games. She was named the Saskatchewan Female U18 AAA Hockey League Colleen Sostorics Top Defenseman during her final season 2017-18.

She also represented Canada at the IIHF U18 World Women’s Hockey Championships in Russia in 2018.