In the first game of the best-of-three ECAC Quarterfinals, the third-ranked Clarkson University Women’s Hockey team scored the final three goals to earn a 4-1 victory over Rensselaer on Friday night in Cheel Arena.
Clarkson is now 26-4-5 on the season and needs one more win to advance to the ECAC Semifinals. Rensselaer drops to 10-23-2.
Postgame audio Head Coach Matt Desrosiers
Clarkson got on the scoreboard very early in the game. Clarkson got the puck in the Rensselaer crease and there was a mad scramble. An Engineer cleared the puck away from the goal, but only as far as Corie Jacobson who lifted a shot into the goal to give Clarkson a 1-0 lead after just 65 seconds had elapsed.
Rensselaer not down for long though. A Clarkson penalty at 4:49 gave Rensselaer a power-play opportunity and the Engineers took advantage. Much like Clarkson’s goal, there was a scramble in front of the goal after a Rensselaer shot, with Sabrina Repaci able to find the puck and tuck it home. The goal came at 6:19 with Blake Orosz and Whitney Renn getting assists.
With the score tied at one after the first period, it was the middle frame where Clarkson pulled away from Rensselaer. The Golden Knights regained the lead 4:46 into the period on a goal by Cassidy Vinkle. Michaela Pejzlova started the play by picking up the puck behind Clarkson’s blue-line and then taking it all the way to behind the Rensselaer net. Pejzlova dropped a pass back to Vinkle who found space on the left side of the rink and lifted a shot that caught the underside of the crossbar and went in. The Green and Gold added an insurance goal at 8:17 through co-captain Savannah Harmon. Harmon advanced towards the Rensselaer end and passed forwards to assistant captain Genevieve Bannon. Bannon returned the feed to Harmon who drifted from right to left in the Rensselaer end and then let loose a wrist shot that scored.
Clarkson iced the game with an empty net goal at 18:48 in the third period. With the Rensselaer goaltender pulled, the Engineers pushed forward to try to tie the game. However, Jacobson got control of the puck and passed to co-captain Cayley Mercer. Mercer’s pass found Loren Gabel all alone behind the Rensselaer defense and Gabel was able to skate in all alone and tap into the empty goal.
Clarkson finished with a 43-14 advantage in shots. Renssealer went 1-2 on the power-play while Clarkson failed to convert on all four of its extra man opportunities. Shea Tiley made 13 saves for Clarkson while Lovisa Selander had 39 stops for Rensselaer.
The two teams will meet for game two in the quarterfinals series at 3:00 pm on Saturday afternoon in Cheel Arena.
