Potsdam, NY – Senior Loren Gabel scored a career-high four goals for her fifth career hat trick as the Clarkson University Women’s Hockey team picked up a 4-1 non-league win over the University of Minnesota-Duluth Friday evening at Cheel Arena.
The Golden Knights, ranked third in the latest national polls, improved to 11-2-0 overall in 2018-19, while Minnesota-Duluth moved to 5-7-1. The two teams will face off again at 3:00 pm on Saturday.
The four goals pushed Gabel to 170 career points (89 goals, 81 assists). She trails only Cayley Mercer ’17 (178 points) and Jamie Lee Rattray ’14 (181) on Clarkson’s all-time scoring list. Her 13 goals in 2018-19 also are the most in NCAA Division I Women’s Hockey.
The Golden Knights owned the first shot of the game as Elizabeth Giguere produced an attempt just five seconds in, which turned out to be indicative of the first period overall as Clarkson held a 16-6 advantage in the first 20 minutes. Clarkson nearly got on the scoreboard just five minutes in as Giguere chipped the puck up in the air around two defenders and the bounding puck almost snuck in over the head of Minnesota-Duluth goaltender Maddie Rooney, but she and the two defenders successfully cleared the attempt. Six minutes later Clarkson again was on the attack with a two-on-one with Gabel and Giguere, but Maggie Flaherty slid to her stomach to break up the pass. The Bulldogs were not without their opportunities, however, as a broken play near the right boards allowed Anna Klein into the clear. Klein received a pass in the slot all alone, but her shot ended up ringing off the post at 15:35.
Clarkson finally capitalized on its many chances in the final minute of the opening period. Junior Michaela Pejzlova collected the puck in her own defensive end and skated up to the blue line, sending a pass up to Giguere. The sophomore then skated down to the bottom of the right circle and sent an elevated pass through the crease to Gabel, who banged the knee-high pass out of the air and in with just 26.5 seconds remaining in the period.
The second period saw the teams play more evenly, though that equality ran in shifts. The first two minutes, Minnesota-Duluth possessed the puck in the Clarkson defensive zone with the Golden Knights unable to clear the puck, but when the Green and Gold finally did, it was the Bulldogs that could not clear the zone for another two minutes. Four minutes later, Minnesota-Duluth killed off a two-minute interference penalty and tightened up the game shortly thereafter. Multiple shots from the Bulldogs were stopped by Clarkson’s Kassidy Sauve, but neither she nor any of the Golden Knights defenders could clear or corral the puck and Gabbie Hughes finally poked the loose puck underneath the back of a sprawling Sauve at 8:43.
The two teams would be tied for less than three minutes, however, as Clarkson quickly reclaimed the lead. Giguere and Gabel kept the puck in the Bulldogs defensive zone with some work behind and to the side of the net, with Giguere eventually locating Gabel at the slot on the right circle side, where Gabel wristed in her second goal of the game over Rooney’s glove at 11:18. Six minutes later Gabel finished off her fifth career hat trick when Giguere took a shot from the right circle, but the senior winger tapped the shot past Rooney’s stick at 17:43. Pejzlova also earned her second assist of the game.
Unsatisfied with merely three goals, Gabel tacked on an insurance score midway through the third period. Gabel found another location on the ice from which to show off her offensive prowess, sending a wrist shot over the Bulldogs’ goaltender’s left shoulder from the bottom of the right circle at 7:55 on a tight angle without much room for error.
Beyond Gabel’s four goals, Giguere finished with three assists to edge up to 98 career points while Pejzlova also picked up three assists in the contest, recording her third on Gabel’s final goal of the game.
Sauve ended the night with 26 saves, including 11 in the third period, to highlight Clarkson’s defensive effort. Maddie Rooney stopped 33 shots. Clarkson held a 37-27 edge in shots. Neither team scored while on the power play as Clarkson went 0-for-4 and the Bulldogs went 0-for-2.
