Two goals in the third period separated the fifth-ranked Clarkson University Women’s Hockey team as the Golden Knights defeated host Vermont 3-1 to win the Windjammer Classic on Saturday night.
Clarkson is now 13-3-2 on the season while Vermont falls to 4-6-4. Clarkson is unbeaten in 12 straight games, going 11-0-1 in that span.
“It’s always great to get some tournament experience during the season,” stated Head Coach Matt Desrosiers. “I thought we had a good game tonight playing much better in a few areas we lacked yesterday. We need to take the positives from this weekend and have a good week of practice in preparation for our games against St Lawrence.”
With Clarkson coming off a shootout win on Friday night, while Vermont had an easy four=goal win, one might have expected Clarkson to start off slowly. That was exactly what happened as Vermont took the lead 8:18 in to the first period.
The lead was short-lived with Clarkson tying the game at 15:58 through Kelly Mariani who scored her fourth goal of the year. Assistant captain Genevieve Bannon and Taylor Turnquist picked up assists on the goal.
Neither team could score in the second period. Clarkson finally grabbed the third goal of the game at 6:36 in the final period with Cassidy Vinkle scoring. The Green and Gold doubled their lead at 12:28 when Loren Gabel got on the scoresheet, with Rhyen McGill adding an assist. After surrendering a 3-1 lead to Robert Morris on Friday night, Clarkson did not allow the lead to slip away on Saturday and closed out the Catamounts to claim the title.
Clarkson finished with a 26-13 advantage in shots. Clarkson was 0 for 4 on power-plays and killed all three of Vermont’s extra man opportunities. Shea Tiley made 12 saves for Clarkson while her Vermont counterpart, Madison Litchfield, made 23 stops.
Clarkson will take on local rival St. Lawrence in a home-and-home series this coming weekend. The Golden Knights will host the first leg on Thursday night, before the teams move to Canton for a Saturday matchup.
Windjammer Classic All-Tournament Team for Clarkson
Cassidy Vinkle – MVP
Michaela Pejzlove
