Even after 38 saves by goaltender Shea Tiley, the seventh-ranked Clarkson University Women’s Hockey team was unable to hold off top-ranked Wisconsin in a 3-2 overtime defeat at Cheel Arena on Friday afternoon.
Clarkson falls to 2-2-1 on the season while Wisconsin improves to 4-0-1.
With two of the four schools that have won an NCAA Women’s Hockey Championship matching up, a close game was expected and the two teams did not disappoint. Wisconsin struck first when Sarah Nurse scored 6:09 into the game.
Clarkson answered back with two straight goals of its own. The Golden Knights tied the game at 16:53 when Loren Gabel scored a power-play goal. Captains Savannah Harmon and Cayley Mercer had the assists on the goal. Just 1:12 into the second period, the Green and Gold took the lead when Mercer grabbed a goal. Corie Jacobson and Michaela Pejzlova were credited with assists on the score.
After taking the 2-1 lead into the final frame, Clarkson tried to hold off the high-scoring Badger offense. Unfortunately, Wisconsin was able to break through and tie the game on an extra man opportunity. It was Sam Cogan who scored the goal at 9:34 with Maddie Rolfes and Mellissa Channell getting the assists.
After neither team could score in the final 10:26 of regulation, they went to overtime, the second straight time each team had required the extra period. It was Wisconsin who broke the deadlock for the final time when Emily Clark scored 1:51 into the extra session. It was the first time Clarkson had fallen in overtime since losing to Boston College 3-2 in the 2016 Frozen Four.
Wisconsin finished with a 41-23 advantage in shots. Both teams scored on one of their three power-plays. Tiley made 38 saves for Clarkson, which is the second highest total of her career. She also tied her career high with 18 saves in the third period. Ann-Renee Desbiens made 21 stops for the Badgers.
The two teams will meet again on Saturday afternoon at 3:00 pm in Cheel Arena.
