Buffalo, NY (2/21/15)- Head Coach Dave Clausen picked up his 200th career win as the Utica College women’s hockey team topped host Buffalo State 3-2 in overtime Saturday afternoon in ECAC West action.
With the win, the Pioneers clinched the No. 4 seed in the conference playoffs and will host a first round game next weekend against Buffalo State. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday at “The Aud.”
Clausen, who is the only coach in UC history, has collected all 200 wins with the Pioneers. He now has an overall record of 200-141-26 in 14 seasons.
Buffalo State got on the board at 12:53 of the first period as Brooke Krantz netted her fourth of the year, on the power-play. Missy Mallon and Georgia Kleiner assisted on the play. The Pioneers evened the scored three and a half minutes later as freshman Carlie Smith (Grimsby, Ontario/St. Catharine’s Chaos) found the back of the net for her fourth of the year. Samantha Husak (Jackson, MI/Team Detroit) and Emily Coope (Phoenix, AZ/Colorado Tigers) tallied helpers on the power-play goal.
Buffalo state took a 2-1 lead into the locker room for the final 20 minutes, however sophomore Tori Pelton scored her second goal of the year halfway through the third period to tie the game. Seniors Nikki Kieffer (Rome, NY/Lysander Lightning) and Louise Steele-Norton (Avondale, PA/Millbrook School) assisted on the equalizer.
Then, with under 40 seconds remaining in overtime, sophomore Gabrielle Schnepp (Northville, MI/Belle Tire) took a feed from Taylor Osowski (Highlands Ranch, CO/Colorado Selects) and buried the game-winner.
Sophomore Keira Goin (Dobbs Ferry, NY/Hotchkiss School) totaled 28 saves in net for her seventh win of the season, while her counterpart, Justine Silva had 21 saves in the loss. Utica was 2-for-5 on the power-play, while the Bengals were held to just 1-for-8.
Utica improves to 10-10-5 on the year and 7-7-4 in ECAC West play. This marks the 13th time out of the program’s 14-years history that the Pioneers have made the ECAC West Conference Tournament.
