Two nationally-ranked unbeaten Women’s Hockey teams faced off in Canton, NY on Friday afternoon, but it was 2nd-ranked Clarkson University that remained undefeated after the final whistle. The defending national champions skated past 6th-ranked St. Lawrence University 4-2 at Appleton Arena, improving their record to 6-0-1 and extending their unbeaten streak to 23 games (21-0-2), dating back to January 20.
Freshman Elizabeth Giguere (Quebec City, QUE) continued her torrid start to her first collegiate campaign with a two-goal outing to pace the effort. Giguere has scored six goals and nine points through her first seven NCAA games. Senior Shea Tiley (Owen Sound, ONT) was solid once again in the Golden Knights’ crease with 15 saves in her 85th career win.
Clarkson and St. Lawrence (2-1-2) will meet again at 3:00 pm on Saturday at Cheel Arena. Prior to the game, Clarkson will raise its second NCAA National Championship Banner honoring the 2017 title, going alongside the 2014 NCAA Banner already in the Cheel rafters.
The Knights, who outshot the Saints 24-17, never trailed in the contest.
Giguere started things off with a power-play goal at 6:46, connecting on a low wrist shot from the top of the right circle that found its way through traffic into the back of the net. Defenseman, senior captain Savannah Harmon (Downers Grove, IL) and sophomore Ella Shelton (Ingersol, ONT) assisted.
The Saints capitalized on a Clarkson turnover deep in its own end with Kennedy Marchment’s goal at 11:49. That goal stopped Tiley’s shutout streak at 131:53.
With time winding down in the opening period, Giguere picked up a loose puck at her own blueline, split the defense and broke in alone on St. Lawrence goaltender Sonjia Shelly and slipped a shot through the Saints’ netminder’s five-hole for her second goal of the day with less than a second before the buzzer. Junior Loren Gabel (Kitchener, ONT) earned the assist by freeing the puck off the boards.
The Knights added to the lead early in the middle frame. Junior assistant captain Cassidy Vinkle (Belleville, ONT) fired a shot from the left circle just under the crossbar at 8:53. Sophomore Taylor Turnquist (Blaine, MN) assisted on the goal, which gave the Knights a 3-1 lead through two periods.
St. Lawrence made it a one-goal game early in the third when Nadine Edney found a loose puck in front and lifted in a shot over Tiley at 3:35.
Clarkson came right back to regain the two-goal advantage on senior Amanda Titus’ (Stittsville, ONT) shot from between the circles at 6:30 off a pass from junior Rhyen McGill (Whitby, ONT). Junior Kelly Mariani (Mississauga, ONT) also assisted.
The Knights went 1-of-6 on the power play and killed off all five of St. Lawrence’s man-advantage opportunities.
